Business

UK Clamps Down On Cryptocurrency Sector

Published

2 years ago

June 8, 2023

Britain’s financial regulator on Thursday tightened rules over the promotion and selling of cryptocurrency as it seeks to protect consumers.

The Financial Conduct Authority unveiled a package of measures for the industry, which has long faced criticism over the lack of oversight — and promises of high returns in a volatile marketplace.

Under the new rules, companies promoting crypto products or services in Britain must from October give a “clear warning” that customers could lose money in “high-risk” investments.

Marketing firms must also introduce a cooling-off period for first-time crypto investors.

FG put MDAs’ payments on hold
And the watchdog will also ban “refer a friend” bonuses that are designed to incentivise crypto investing.

“Our rules give people the time and the right risk warnings to make an informed choice,” said Sheldon Mills, head of consumers and competition at the FCA.

The announcement comes after Britain introduced legislation earlier this year to bring crypto promotions under the scope of the FCA.

UK lawmakers are also demanding that crypto investments in Britain be regulated, in much the same way as the country’s gambling industry.

Reacting to the FCA announcement, the director of operations at industry group CryptoUK, Su Carpenter, said the new rules could prevent fresh entrants.

“There is a risk that this solution will both unfairly concentrate market power for those firms which are already authorised and potentially encourage unauthorised firms to operate from outside of the UK,” Carpenter said.

That could, in turn, create “a competitive disadvantage for UK-based organisations and also potentially undermining consumer safeguards”, she added in a statement.

The FCA clampdown follows moves toward tighter regulation in the United States.

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday sued crypto platform Coinbase, charging that the largest US digital currency trading platform made billions of dollars by “unlawfully facilitating the buying and selling of crypto asset securities”.

The SEC has this week also unveiled charges against Coinbase peer Binance and its founder Changpeng Zhao for numerous alleged securities law violations.

The news follows the spectacular failure of crypto exchange giant FTX in November, stoking concern over a market dubbed by some critics as the “Wild West”.

AFP

Business

Naira Records Second Consecutive Depreciation Against US Dollar

Published

6 days ago

November 12, 2025

Editor

The Naira recorded its second consecutive depreciation against the United States dollar at the foreign exchange market on Tuesday to continue the bearish trend this week.

The Central Bank of Nigeria’s data showed that the Naira further weakened on Tuesday to N1,438.71 against the dollar, down from N1,437.2933 exchanged on Monday.

This means that the Naira again dropped by N1.42 against the dollar on Tuesday on a day-to-day basis.

At the black market, the Naira remained flat at N1465 per dollar on Tuesday, the same rate traded on Monday.

This is the second consecutive decline of Nigerian currency at the official market since the commencement of this week.

Meanwhile, the country’s external reserves had continued to rise, standing at $43.37 billion as of Monday, 10th November 2025, up from $43.35 billion on November 7.

Business

Tinubu Approves 15% Import Duty On Petrol, Diesel

Published

3 weeks ago

October 30, 2025

Editor

President Bola Tinubu has approved a 15 percent ad-valorem import duty on diesel and premium motor spirit (PMS), also known as petrol.

This was announced in a letter dated October 21, 2025, where the private secretary to the president, Damilotun Aderemi, conveyed Tinubu’s approval to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

Tinubu gave his approval, following a request by the FIRS to apply the 15 percent duty on the cost, insurance and freight (CIF) to align import costs to domestic realities.

With the approval, the implementation of the import duty will increase a litre of petrol by an estimated N99.72 kobo.

The latest development has led to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) announcing that it has begun a detailed review of the country’s three petroleum refineries, with a view to bringing them back online.

NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Bayo Ojulari, made the announcement in a post on his official X handle on Wednesday night.

According to Ojulari, one of the options being explored by the NNPCL is to search for technical equity partners to ‘high-grade or repurpose’ the facilities.

Tagged: “Update on Our Refineries”, Ojulari said: “The NNPCL continues to remain optimistic that the refineries will operate efficiently, despite current setbacks.”

It can be recalled that despite spending about $3 billion on revamping the refineries, only the 60,000 barrels per day portion of the facility worked skeletally for just a few months before packing up.

The Warri refinery has remained ineffective weeks after it was gleefully announced to have returned to production, while the one situated in Kaduna State never took off at all.

Business

NNPCL Raises Fuel Price

Published

1 month ago

October 13, 2025

Editor

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has increased the pump price of petrol from ₦865 to ₦992 per litre, marking a fresh hike that has sparked widespread concern among motorists and consumers .

As of the time of filing this report, the company has not released any official statement explaining the reason for the sudden adjustment.

During visits to several NNPC retail outlets, The Nation observed fuel attendants recalibrating their pumps to reflect the new price.

At NNPC filling station on Ogunusi road, Ojodu Berger, petrol attendants at the station said they were instructed to change the price to reflect the new rate N992 per litre.

However, checks at Ibafo along the Lagos /Ibadan expressway showed that NNPC outlets still displayed the old price of N875 per litre, although they were not selling to commuters.

Most of the NNPC stations were not dispensing fuel.