I came across a recent reflection on how the Gulf has moved blockchain from hype into regulated utility, and I couldn't help but think about where we are in Nigeria right now.

The truth is, we are not at the beginning of this journey, adoption has already happened here, quietly and at scale, the market has moved ahead of policy. What we are dealing with now is not whether virtual assets should exist, but how to bring structure, visibility and coordination to something that is already deeply embedded in our economic reality.

The Governance Moment We Are In

This is why the current moment matters, the conversation is no longer about technology, and thats clear to me and many of us in here, it is about governance, interoperability and alignment across institutions. How the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Securities and Exchange Commission Nigeria, the Nigeria Revenue Service and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit come together to see the same market through different but coordinated lenses will define the outcome.

In this regard, the role of the House Ad Hoc Committee on the Economic, Regulatory and Security Implications of Cryptocurrency and PoS Operations in Nigeria, under the leadership dynamics of Hon. Bamisile, is particularly important. The timing of that committee is not incidental becasue it provides a space for thoughtful oversight at a point where the ecosystem is transitioning from informal growth to structured engagement. If approached with continous clarity and openness as its currently doing, it can help ensure that policy does not lag too far behind reality, and that alignment does not come at the cost of innovation.

The Risk We Must Name Honestly

But we also need to speak honestly to ourselves. One of the biggest risks to this entire new VARA alignment effort is not external but internal, self interest especially and thats something we must derisk. When a few stakeholders begin to prioritize control, dominance or narrow advantage over collective progress, the system begins to fracture quietly. We have seen this before in other parts of our economy, in payments, in telecoms, even in oil and gas and in how SEC initially handled the VASP onboarding into ARIP. What starts as promise slowly turns into gatekeeping, policy capture and loss of trust and once trust is broken in Nigeria, it takes years to rebuild.

That is why this moment must be handled differently. The CBN, NRS led VARA cannot become another story of good intention and poor execution. Time is already not on our side. Delays, silence and lack of clarity are beginning to send the wrong signals to operators, investors and even some regulators themselves. If stakeholders begin to lose trust again, especially with the President's name tied to this vision under Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the damage will go beyond policy. It will affect credibility.

The Legal Tension That Still Exists

We must also be clear about the legal tension that still exists. The NTAA framework recognizes virtual assets within the tax system, treating them as economic activity subject to reporting and fiscal obligations. At the same time, the ISA 2025 gives the Securities and Exchange Commission Nigeria authority over digital assets that qualify as securities or investment contracts. On paper, these are complementary but in practice there is still ambiguity. Where exactly is the line between a non-security virtual asset used for settlement and a regulated financial instrument? How are operators meant to comply when classification is not yet clear.

If this is not addressed quickly, it can lead to internal regulatory friction and once regulators are not aligned, as we can already confirm the market becomes confused, most businesses slow down and only a very tiney few prospers, foreign partners hesitate while some invade the market and steal from us since we have kept our gates open and onguarded, innovation moves elsewhere obviosly.

Where the Committee Must Act

This is where the Ad Hoc Committee on crypto. and PoS must act decisively when they return from recess. There is a real opportunity to:

• Clarify classification boundaries between taxable digital assets and securities
• Encourage coordinated guidance between institutions
• Reduce overlapping compliance expectations
• Ensure that policy reflects actual market use cases, not theoretical assumptions

Silence or delay at this stage will only deepen uncertainty.

A Call to Stakeholders

At the same time, we stakeholders must not go quiet abeg, this is not the time to withdraw or wait, if anything, this is the time for responsible advocacy. To push for clarity, to call out weak or inconsistent implementation where it exists, to demand that what has been started is followed through properly, respectfully, but firmly too.

Because the risk is real, and we could lose time and momentum, and in a country like ours Nigeria where elections, transitions and shifting priorities often interrupt continuity, we cannot afford another cycle of almost getting it right.

I'd say this for the upteenth time just like many of you reading now may have said before too, Nigeria is not lacking in talent, innovation or market demand, what we need now is discipline, alignment and sincerity of purpose.

Until next time I remain Oluwasegun Kosemani and my professionalm interest is at the intersection of Bitcoin as financial infrastructure | Digital asset market structure | Regulatory harmonization | Financial inclusion | Sovereign Bitcoin strategy Media Technology and Public Communication.