Nigeria and Binance in preliminary talks for a crypto-friendly economic zone

The proposed partnership aims to build a crypto-enabled digital city similar to the Dubai Virtual Free Zone.

The Nigerian government has held a preliminary meeting with crypto exchange Binance to potentially establish a special economic zone aimed at supporting crypto and blockchain-related businesses.

According to a September 2 article from the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), the authority has held preliminary talks with Binance and tech infrastructure company Talent City to discuss the proposed digital city, called "Virtual Free Zone". ."

NEPZA Managing Director Adesoji Adesugba said the proposed zone would be a first in West Africa and would act similarly to Dubai's virtual zones, which are designed to provide laws, regulations and crypto-friendly tax incentives for crypto businesses.

Professor Adesoji Adesugba (NEPZA MD/CEO), Sameera Kimatrai (Binance Senior Legal Counsel), Luqman Edu (CEO Talent City), Sikiru Lawal (NEPZA Director). pic.twitter.com/73scHU4hYE

Nigeria has one of the highest cryptocurrency adoption rates in the world, with over 22 million crypto owners according to Triple A.

Adesugba said the zone would help grow Nigeria's digital economy and "expand employment opportunities" for Nigerian citizens, saying:

"Our goal is to create a thriving Virtual Free Zone to leverage a nearly $1 trillion virtual economy in blockchain and digital economy."

The preliminary plans were discussed on Friday during a meeting between Adesugba, Nadeem Ladki, Executive Director of Binance, Luqman Edu, CEO of Talent City, and Sikiru Lawal, Director of NEPZA, in Dubai.

Adesugba added that the move would be part of Nigeria's economic development agenda, with the vision to further boost crypto adoption in the West African region.

"We seek to innovate...