The planned alliance intends to create a digital city that welcomes cryptocurrency, much like the digital free zone in Dubai.
The Nigerian government and the cryptocurrency exchange Binance met informally to discuss the possibility of creating a special economic zone to support companies involved in the blockchain and cryptocurrency industries.
According to a post on Friday, the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) has conducted preliminary discussions with Binance and the technical infrastructure firm Talent City to talk about the proposed digital city, referred to as a “Virtual Free Zone.”
According to NEPZA managing director Adesoji Adesugba, the proposed zone will be a first in West Africa and function similarly to Dubai’s virtual zones, which are intended to offer crypto firms laws, regulations, and tax incentives that are beneficial to the industry.
Binance Looking For A Crypto-Friendly Economic Zone:
According to Triple-A, Nigeria has one of the greatest cryptocurrency adoption rates globally, with over 22 million crypto owners.
The early intentions were addressed on Friday in Dubai during a meeting between Adesugba, Nadeem Ladki, CEO of Binance, Luqman Edu, CEO of Talent City, and Sikiru Lawal, director of NEPZA.
To further encourage the adoption of cryptocurrencies in the West African region, Adesugba noted that the action would be a component of Nigeria’s goal for economic development.
The popularity of cryptocurrencies in Africa has risen steadily over the past few years, driven by a deficient financial system, unpredictable government policies, and inflation.
According to a new CoinGecko study, Nigerians are the most obsessed with cryptocurrencies, having searched for “cryptocurrency” and “purchase crypto” more frequently than the citizens of any other 14 nations surveyed.
The country’s first central bank digital currency (CBDC), eNaira, was also introduced in Nigeria in October 2021. It is currently in its second phase and aims to promote financial inclusion by enrolling Nigeria’s unbanked individuals.
