{"id":75018,"date":"2026-07-06T11:17:47","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T11:17:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/nigeria-sec-admits-kucoin-and-gigx-as-arip-sandbox-grows-to-9-supervised-crypto-firms\/"},"modified":"2026-07-06T11:17:47","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T11:17:47","slug":"nigeria-sec-admits-kucoin-and-gigx-as-arip-sandbox-grows-to-9-supervised-crypto-firms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/nigeria-sec-admits-kucoin-and-gigx-as-arip-sandbox-grows-to-9-supervised-crypto-firms\/","title":{"rendered":"Nigeria SEC Admits Kucoin and GIGX as ARIP Sandbox Grows to 9 Supervised Crypto Firms"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>(Originally posted on : Bitcoin News )<\/b><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"@container mb-[25px] rounded-sm overflow-clip py-0.5 pr-0.5 pl-2.5 bg-success-100\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-col gap-m overflow-clip rounded-[6px] !bg-success-10 p-3 @[420px]:p-m\">\n<h2 class=\"m-0 flex items-center gap-s text-[19px] !text-[#1c1c1c] md:text-[20px]\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"16\" height=\"10\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 10\" fill=\"none\" class=\"shrink-0 text-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><path d=\"M1 1.5h14\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2.5\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"\/><path d=\"M1 8.5h10\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2.5\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"\/><\/svg><span>Key Takeaways<\/span><\/h2>\n<ul class=\"m-0 flex list-none flex-col gap-m pl-0\">\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">Nigeria\u2019s SEC expanded its ARIP sandbox by admitting KuCoin and GIGX on July 2, 2026.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">The program now monitors 9 total crypto firms as they work toward gaining full operational licenses.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">Nigeria SEC stresses AIP is not full legalization as firms work toward compliance benchmarks like a 25% fidelity bond.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Expanding the Sandbox<\/h2>\n<p>Nigeria\u2019s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has admitted two additional virtual asset service providers (VASPs) into its Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Program (ARIP), following the recent entry of Luno Nigeria as the first global <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bitcoin.com\/get-started\/a-quick-introduction-to-crypto\/\" class=\"lar_link lar_link_outgoing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">cryptocurrency<\/a> platform to join the <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/central-bank-of-nigeria-selects-six-entities-for-new-virtual-asset-pilot\/\">supervised framework<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The financial regulator announced July 2 that GIGX Technologies and Kucoin Nigeria Limited have been granted approval-in-principle (AIP). The approval allows the two entities to operate provisionally under the SEC\u2019s supervision while working toward full registration.<\/p>\n<p>The regulatory expansion comes just days after Luno Nigeria and six other entities secured their provisional clearance as part of the program\u2019s second batch. For Luno, which entered the Nigerian market in 2015, the inclusion represents a major milestone for the initiative as its first participant with a global footprint.<\/p>\n<p>Ayotunde Alabi, chief executive officer of Luno Nigeria, described the development as a strong validation of the company\u2019s commitment to building responsibly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAdmission into ARIP gives us a clearer regulatory pathway, strengthens trust with customers and partners, and provides a stronger foundation for the next phase of our growth, particularly as we expand our focus on institutional and B2B opportunities,\u201d Alabi said.<\/p>\n<p>Luno noted that the <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/nigeria-senate-pushes-crypto-bill-to-committee-setting-up-4-week-review-phase\/\">structured framework<\/a> provides the clarity necessary to deploy institutional services like <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bitcoin.com\/get-started\/what-are-stablecoins\/\" class=\"lar_link lar_link_outgoing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">stablecoins<\/a> and crypto-as-a-service platforms to local banks and asset managers.<\/p>\n<p>The SEC\u2019s incubation framework acts as a testing ground for digital asset businesses, building on a broader regulatory push initiated with virtual asset licensing guidelines. Rather than issuing standard operational licenses immediately, the regulator uses the trial period to monitor how companies manage customer funds, implement anti-money laundering controls and handle operational risks.<\/p>\n<p>To qualify for the program, firms must satisfy strict corporate and financial benchmarks. Requirements include proof of satisfactory shareholders\u2019 funds relative to their service category, maintaining a valid fidelity bond covering at least 25% of those funds, and operating a physical office inside Nigeria. Additionally, applicants must appoint a resident chief executive officer and show evidence of registration with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).<\/p>\n<p>The expansion brings the total number of digital asset firms recently admitted into the SEC\u2019s regulatory testing phase to nine. In addition to Luno, Kucoin and GIGX, the approved entities include Bitbarter, Getequity, Koinkoin, Wrapped <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bitcoin.com\/get-started\/what-are-central-bank-digital-currencies\/\" class=\"lar_link lar_link_outgoing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">CBDC<\/a>, Trovotech and Blockvault Custodian.<\/p>\n<p>Commission officials noted that provisional approvals do not equate to full legalization or blanket authorization for all <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bitcoin.com\/get-started\/a-quick-introduction-to-crypto\/\" class=\"lar_link lar_link_outgoing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">cryptocurrency<\/a> platforms operating within Nigeria. The SEC continues to advise consumers to verify whether individual digital asset providers are recognized under the commission\u2019s supervised framework before utilizing their platforms.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/nigeria-sec-admits-kucoin-and-gigx-as-arip-sandbox-grows-to-9-supervised-crypto-firms\/\">Source link <\/a><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(Originally posted on : Bitcoin News ) Key Takeaways Nigeria\u2019s SEC expanded its ARIP sandbox by admitting KuCoin and GIGX on July 2, 2026. The program now monitors 9 total crypto firms as they work toward gaining full operational licenses. Nigeria SEC stresses AIP is not full legalization as firms work toward compliance benchmarks like [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":75019,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75018"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75018"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75018\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}