From the shadow bans in the banking sector to the skepticism of national security agencies, the wild west of crypto has often been viewed more as a threat to be contained than an opportunity to be harnessed.

That narrative shifted today.

The Virtual Asset Service Providers Association (VASPA), a Pan-African industry association, has officially unveiled Project Green-White-Green, a comprehensive whitepaper that aims to do the unthinkable: bridge the gap between the chaotic liquidity of global digital assets and the structured requirements of the Nigerian state.

This isn’t just a policy paper; it is a multi-billion dollar roadmap designed to integrate an estimated $92.1 billion in annual virtual asset volume into the formal economy.

Protecting the Naira: From Restrictions to Dynamic Alignment

Perhaps the most topical issue for Nigerians today is the volatility of the Naira. In a bold move, VASPA’s Market Integrity pillar proposes a dynamic FX alignment  standard. Instead of trying to shut down markets, an effort that often only drives them deeper underground, the framework suggests linking trading spreads to official NAFEM rates.

This coordinated superhighway aims to end the fragmented oversight that sees operators bouncing between the SEC, CBN, and CAC.

By resolving the chicken-and-egg paradox, where the CAC won’t incorporate a business without a SEC license, and the SEC won’t license without incorporation, the project clears the path for indigenous “Web3” startups to flourish legally.

A National Security Asset, Not a Threat

For the security conscious, the whitepaper flips the script on anonymity. Through mandatory integration with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), the framework seeks to ensure every participant is a verified, accountable citizen.

“We are no longer waiting for the future of finance to happen to Nigeria; we are architecting it,” said Franklin Peters, executive chair of VASPA and CEO/founder of Boundlesspay. “One of our country-specific, practitioner-led projects for the constructive realignment of the virtual asset sector, Project Green-White-Green is the definitive roadmap for any serious operator or investor who wants a stake in the next decade of our digital economy. While Project Green-White-Green is designed for Nigeria, similar projects will be designed for other key African markets as well. This is because the regulatory landscape is fundamentally shifting. Those who align with this framework will lead in what we consider Nigeria’s most massive growth phase.”

The $1 Trillion Ambition and the Fiscal Opportunity

As the Federal Government pursues an ambitious goal of a $1 trillion economy by 2030, the question of “where will the revenue come from?” looms large. Project Green-White-Green answers this with Pillar III: Fiscal Sovereignty.

The whitepaper reveals that between July 2024 and June 2025 alone, Nigerians conducted over $92 billion in transactions, most of which generated zero tax revenue due to a lack of infrastructure. VASPA’s solution? zero-friction automated taxation.

By proposing an API-driven interface that automates VAT and Capital Gains Tax (CGT) at the point of transaction, the project promises to turn a “grey market” into a sustainable revenue engine for the Federation.

To encourage this shift, the project advocates for a “Clean Slate” regularization, removing the fear of retroactive liability for those who operated during previous periods of regulatory ambiguity.

The Architect’s View

The development of this framework was not just an industry wish-list, but an exercise in deep technical and legal alignment.

“This whitepaper is the culmination of meticulous legal, technical, and economic engineering,” stated Favour Uche, project manager for Project Green-White-Green and Star Associate at Infusion Lawyers. “We didn’t just compile industry feedback, but articulated and aggregated them into the frameworks proposed, ensuring alignment with national interest. We are now fully prepared to take this blueprint to the highest levels of government. The groundwork is officially laid, and the execution phase begins now.”

The Safe Harbor: A Bridge to the Future

Recognizing that you cannot change an entire industry overnight, VASPA has proposed a Safe Harbor Pilot. This acts as a non-punitive protected window where operators can transition into full compliance under the watchful eye of regulators without the threat of immediate penalties.

This pilot includes a 24-Month Sovereign Integration Roadmap, specifically designed to bring global offshore exchanges into the fold as Digital Residents, eventually requiring them to localize operations, pay taxes, and partner with indigenous firms to upskill Nigerian talent.

With the successful exit from the FATF Grey List in October 2025, Nigeria has already proven its commitment to global financial standards.

Project Green-White-Green is the next logical step, a sophisticated, made-in-Nigeria response to the global crypto phenomenon.

As the document moves toward high-level engagements with the CBN, SEC, NFIU, NRS, EFCC, ONSA, the Presidency in Abuja, the message to the industry and the government is clear: The digital economy is no longer a peripheral experiment. It is a sovereign priority.

*Project Green-White-Green is the primary instrument for VASPA’s upcoming engagements with Nigeria’s top financial and security authorities. The public version is currently available here.

A directive titled ‘Commission’s sweeping compliance directive issued to capital market operators’, noted that the move was after the 10 individuals and three entities were designated and redlisted on the Nigeria Sanctions List by the Nigeria Sanctions Committee.

The Commission anchored its directive on provisions of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, which mandates the immediate freezing of all funds, assets, and economic resources linked to the named persons and organisations without prior notice.

The SEC stated that all Capital Market Operators (CMOs) and stakeholders have been notified that, pursuant to section 49 of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, the Nigeria Sanctions Committee has approved the addition of entries and entities subject to asset freeze, travel ban, and arms embargo.

“The directive to free accounts and halt all transactions with the flagged entities is binding on all capital market operators and stakeholders, with strict reporting and compliance obligations, including: immediate identification and freezing of all assets linked to designated individuals and entities without prior notification. Mandatory reporting of frozen assets and attempted transactions to the Nigeria Sanctions Committee Secretariat.”

Details accompanying the designation reveal that several of the individuals were convicted by the Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal in April 2019 for terrorism financing activities linked to Boko Haram.

The offences largely involved the alleged collection of funds in Dubai and transferring them to Nigeria to support terrorist operations. Sentences ranged from 10 years imprisonment to life sentences, underscoring the severity of the offences.

“This highlights a pattern where corporate vehicles are used as channels for financial flows, reinforcing the need for heightened scrutiny of business entities within the financial system.

“The SEC also emphasized that the asset-freezing mechanism is preventive rather than punitive, designed to disrupt financial support systems for terrorism before funds can be deployed.

“The implications for non-compliance are severe, including both civil and criminal liabilities, as well as reputational damage for institutions found wanting.

Additionally, the directive extends beyond traditional financial institutions to include Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBPs), signalling a more comprehensive enforcement approach across Nigeria’s financial ecosystem.”

The latest alert, SEC noted, is in line with its zero-tolerance enforcement of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CFT) rules within Nigeria’s capital market, with emphasis on real-time compliance, detailed reporting, and continuous transaction monitoring.

“For market operators, the trading systems must be capable of rapid name screening, asset tracing, and reporting, while compliance teams are expected to act without delay or prior notice to affected clients.”

“It has to be noted that failure to comply not only exposes firms to regulatory sanctions but also risks damaging their credibility in both domestic and international markets”, the statement added.

Teams want to launch campaigns, communicate with clients, and deploy AI-driven tools, yet every message must pass through manual review.

The result is weeks of delay, lost momentum, and teams avoiding written communication altogether. ZeroDrift was built to change that.

ZeroDrift recently announced its launch from stealth alongside a $2 million pre-seed round to automate compliance in real time, unlocking business velocity while giving compliance teams infrastructure to scale oversight.

The pre-seed round was led by a16z speedrun and brings ZeroDrift’s total funding to $2 million. The capital will support the company’s go-to-market launch, product expansion across communication channels, and continued development of its AI-driven compliance engine.

The timing reflects a growing tension across financial services and other regulated industries.

Firms are under pressure to move faster, scale digital outreach, and adopt AI, while regulatory requirements continue to demand strict oversight of every external communication.

Traditional compliance models rely on manual redlines, approval queues, and post-hoc sampling.

These processes were built for a different era and cannot scale with today’s communication volume, leaving compliance teams stretched thin and business teams waiting.

ZeroDrift takes a fundamentally different approach by shifting compliance from a gate at the end of the process into an automated guardrail that operates in real time.

ZeroDrift is an AI-native communication firewall that validates and fixes content before it is sent, giving compliance teams control at scale and business teams the speed to execute.

The platform encodes SEC, FINRA, and firm-specific policies into machine-readable rulepacks, then enforces them at the point of creation.

ZeroDrift integrates directly into tools teams already use, including email, browsers, CRMs, websites, social platforms, and AI systems.

Content is checked instantly, issues are flagged with suggested fixes, and compliant messages move forward without delay. Compliance teams retain full visibility through centralized dashboards, audit trails, and exam-ready evidence generated automatically.

“People do not want to be non-compliant. They just have no way to know if what they are writing is acceptable until it is too late,” said Kumesh Aroomoogan, founder and CEO of ZeroDrift. “Compliance should be a guardrail that lets teams move faster, not a gate that slows everything down. Our goal is to make compliance happen automatically at the speed of work.”

The idea for ZeroDrift came from founder Kumesh Aroomoogan’s experience building Accern (one of the first no-code AI platforms for financial services), which he exited by acquisition in 2025.

He repeatedly saw legal and compliance reviews stall launches and drain momentum.

He also noticed a more subtle shift, where people preferred phone calls over emails because they were unsure whether what they were writing was compliant. Compliance was not only slow, it was changing how people communicated.

ZeroDrift was created to solve that problem by giving teams certainty in real time.

ZeroDrift is launching initially in financial services, serving registered investment advisors, asset managers, broker-dealers, and wealth platforms.

The market includes more than 15,000 RIAs, 3,500 asset managers, and hundreds of thousands of registered representatives in the United States alone.

Early use cases include faster campaign launches, higher sales velocity, safe deployment of client-facing AI, and instant exam readiness without last-minute scrambles.

The broader shift toward AI and multi-channel communication is intensifying the problem ZeroDrift addresses. Firms now communicate across email, websites, social platforms, client portals, and AI assistants, each with its own compliance requirements.

Manual review does not scale across this landscape, and hiring more compliance staff is neither economical nor effective.

As communication volume increases, the firms that succeed will be those that automate governance rather than rely on human bottlenecks.

“Compliance has quietly become a limiting factor for how fast regulated companies can operate,” said Troy Kirwin from a16z speedrun. “ZeroDrift flips that dynamic by preventing violations before they happen and making compliance a built-in part of everyday workflows.”

Looking ahead, ZeroDrift plans to deepen its coverage across financial services before expanding its rule-based compliance engine into other regulated sectors, including insurance, healthcare, ESG disclosures, and AI governance.

The long-term vision is to become the universal trust layer for any system that communicates, ensuring that as AI and automation scale, trust, safety, and compliance scale with them.

In a corporate notice filed with the NGX on Tuesday, December 16, 2025, the company said its two largest shareholders, Clover Global Resources Limited, which holds 39.02% of its shares and TGHL Capital Limited, with 15.20% stake are in talks with Xenergi Limited over the possible sale of their shares.

The disclosure, signed by the Company Secretary, Alozie Nwokoro, stated that if the transaction is completed, Xenergi Limited would acquire a combined 51% equity stake, representing 63 million shares, and become the majority shareholder of Premier Paints Plc.

The proposed change in ownership is subject to approvals from relevant regulatory bodies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX), and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC).

The company said the transaction is expected to be completed before January 31, 2026, and added that it will keep shareholders and the investing public informed as discussions progress.

Scheduled for October 7–9, 2025, across Lagos, Abuja, and Enugu with hybrid global participation, NFW25 will bring together more than 20,000 innovators, policymakers, creators, regulators, investors, and professionals to explore how fintech powers every industry, from healthcare and agriculture to entertainment, transport, media, and education.

“This year’s theme reflects fintech’s transformation from a niche financial solution to the conductor of Nigeria’s entire economic orchestra,” said Dr. Jameelah Sharrieff-Ayedun, Vice President of the Fintech Association of Nigeria (FinTechNGR). “From enabling micro-insurance for healthcare, powering transaction-based credit for smallholder farmers, to boosting the creator economy with seamless payouts, making transport and retail transactions traceable and safer, and more.”

“We’re reimagining the conference experience to offer a more unique, participant-led journey. That is why the conference will have multiple simultaneous tracks. Each track is tailored to different ecosystem actors – policymakers, innovators, corporates, creators, SMEs, and youth. Our digital future works only when every instrument in the orchestra plays in harmony.”

What to Expect at NFW25

• 20+ Thematic Tracks designed for 20,000+ ecosystem actors, including policymakers, innovators, creators, SMEs, and youth
• Global Networking & Investment Opportunities with high-level regulators (CBN, SEC, NDIC, NITDA, NIMC, and more)
• Innovation Showcases & Live Demos from leading fintechs and disruptors
• Youth & SME Capacity-Building Workshops to prepare the next generation of industry leaders
• Special Highlights, including the Most Interesting Fintech of the Year reveal and industry performances

“Fintech powers everything, and NFW25 is where Nigeria’s future is co-created, so we are inviting everyone, from innovators to end-users, to be part of this symphony,” added Mr. Seun Folorunsho, executive secretary of the Planning Committee. 

Key Details

Dates: October 7–9, 2025
 Venues:

• Lagos: Landmark Centre (Main Event)
  
  
• Abuja: Royal Choice Hotel, CBD
  
  
• Enugu: Hotel Sunshine, Plot C5, Presidential Road, Ogui
    + Hybrid Global Access

Registration for NFW25 is 100% free but highly competitive, with priority access given to early registrants due to expected demand across specialized tracks. Click here to register.

Speaking during a discussion with President Tinubu in Brazil, the SEC DG described the ISA Act 2025 as one of Africa’s most comprehensive legal frameworks for capital markets, which will ensure equitable wealth distribution through strong investor protection and regulatory clarity.

President Tinubu praised the growth of Nigeria’s capital market over the past two years of his administration, highlighting the rise in market capitalisation and heightened trading activity that have opened up greater investment opportunities for both local and foreign investors.

President Tinubu lauded the NGX Board and SEC leadership for their commitment, affirming his administration’s unwavering resolve to elevate Nigeria’s financial ecosystem.

“Nigeria’s markets must be a trusted engine of enterprise and prosperity. My government will continue to pursue reforms that unlock capital, protect investors, and drive innovation, so that our economy works for every Nigerian,” he stated.

Alhaji Umaru Kwairanga, NGX group chairman, expressed gratitude for the President’s bold reforms. He urged the fast-tracking of the listing of major state-owned enterprises, such as NNPC Limited, and the introduction of tax incentives to sustain the capital market growth.

Temi Popoola, Group CEO of NGX Group, emphasised the importance of positioning Nigeria’s Exchange as a global investment hub through stronger partnerships, modernised market infrastructure, and deeper product innovation.

He also stressed the need to expand retail investor participation through digital channels in order to promote inclusive and sustainable market growth.

In a statement released by the Commission, it noted that the meeting, which was expressly suspended by the SEC, was conducted without authorisation and resulted in the purported removal of SEC-appointed members of the Board and the Board Secretary.

The Commission said the resolutions passed during the meeting threaten to reverse the progress achieved through its intervention, which had brought stability to the company and positively impacted its share value.

“The Commission, by this notice, informs the general public and all stakeholders that TCN Plc remains under the Commission’s regulatory involvement,” the statement read.

“The Commission does not recognise the purported Annual General Meeting (AGM) of TCN Plc of July 25, 2025, held in clear disregard of an express directive from the Commission and in contravention of extant laws governing such meetings. The Commission shall accordingly discountenance any resolution passed in the said meeting until all legacy issues are fully resolved.”

Reaffirming its focus on investor protection,  the SEC stated that it would pursue all legal options to ensure compliance with regulatory directives and preserve market discipline.

TCN has been under the SEC’s oversight following a prolonged shareholder crisis involving its parent company, Ikeja Hotels Plc, and affiliated entities.

In 2017, the Commission intervened to stabilise the company’s governance structure by appointing two Interim Independent Directors to the Board.

Led by Anthony Idigbe SAN, the board was tasked with restoring order and corporate governance.

In a circular released on Wednesday, the SEC emphasised that Silverkuun is not authorised to operate in any capacity within the Nigerian Capital Market.

“The Commission hereby informs the public that Silverkuun Investment Cooperative Society/Silverkuun Limited is NOT REGISTERED to operate in any capacity in the Nigerian Capital Market.”

The SEC urged Nigerians to avoid doing business with Silverkuun or any of its representatives, warning that transactions with unregistered and unregulated entities pose financial risks and potential loss of investment.

It also urged the public to verify the status of companies and entities offering investment opportunities via the Commission’s website before transacting with them.

This warning is part of the SEC’s efforts to educate and protect investors from financial fraud and Ponzi schemes, which have been on the rise, reinforcing its commitment to safeguarding and fostering transparency in the capital market.

Shareholders expressed their views in Abuja on Sunday while reacting to the continuous rise in unclaimed dividend figures of banks and other companies, highlighting the tedious and frustrating process of claiming dividends.

Speaking on the issue, Bisi Bakare, the National Coordinator of Pragmatic Shareholders Association, stated that administrative costs and delays are some factors discouraging shareholders from claiming dividends.

She added that relocation, fictitious names used in buying shares during privatisation, death, and the neglect of minority shareholders have contributed to the increase in unclaimed dividends. She said:

“Many shareholders purchase multiple shares that they cannot remember the names used, and many of them also relocated before the introduction of e-dividend, hence, no update on the account to pay their dividend into.

“Also, the issue of probate—its administrative cost, delays, and bottleneck—the role of the registrar, and sometimes intentional frustration encountered by shareholders in claiming their money contribute to reasons why unclaimed dividends are growing.”

Highlighting the contribution of the organisation to reducing unclaimed dividends, Bakare stated that the association encouraged its members on the importance of keying into the electronic dividend registration and informed members when companies declare dividends.

Moses Igbrude, the National Coordinator of the Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria, expressed concern that unclaimed dividends persist even among recently listed companies on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX).

He proposed that registrars utilise available contact details to reach out to shareholders, highlighting that addressing the issue of unclaimed dividends requires a multi-dimensional approach.

He called for continuous education, emphasising the need for collaborative efforts from companies, stockbrokers, registrars, and associations.

This appeal to the SEC followed a rise in the unclaimed dividends of some banks for the 2024 financial year. United Bank for Africa (UBA) recorded an unclaimed dividend of N45.99 billion for 2024, up from N14.895 billion in 2023.

Zenith Bank’s unclaimed dividend rose to N30.6 billion for the 2024 financial year, from N30.1 billion in 2023.

The SEC revealed this in a statement published on its website on Wednesday. The Commission emphasised that Tofro is not registered with the Commission and does not have the regulatory approval to operate in any capacity within the Nigerian capital market.

According to an investigation by the SEC, the platform exhibits the typical characteristics of a fraudulent Ponzi scheme, promising unrealistic returns on investment, heavily relying on referrals to sustain payouts, and failing to honour withdrawal requests from subscribers.

The statement read:

“Investigations have revealed that Tofro’s operations exhibit the typical indicators of a Ponzi scheme, including the promise of unusually high returns, heavy reliance on a referral system to sustain pay-outs, and failure to honour withdrawal requests from subscribers. Accordingly, the public is strongly advised to be wary about investing with Tofro, as any person who places such investment with the entity does so at his/her own risk.”

The SEC reiterated its commitment to protecting Nigerians from fraudulent schemes and advised potential investors to verify the legitimacy of any financial investment on the Commission’s website before committing funds.

In light of recent schemes that led to the loss of trillions of naira and left countless families devastated, the SEC is intensifying its efforts to safeguard citizens by raising awareness about fraudulent platforms.

The Commission urges Nigerians to prioritise due diligence before engaging in any investment.