Luno Nigeria has become the first cryptocurrency exchange with a global footprint to receive Approval in Principle under the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme, known as ARIP. The approval places Luno among the earliest movers in what is now a widening cohort of digital asset firms working through Nigeria’s regulatory sandbox.
Luno was one of seven fintech companies cleared in this round, alongside Bitbarter Technologies, GetEquity, Koinkoin Global Network, Wrapped CBDC, Trovotech, and Blockvault Custodian. It’s the first new cohort admitted into ARIP in nearly two years, since the programme’s pioneer batch in August 2024, which had cleared only Busha and Quidax as fully licensed digital asset exchanges.
What Approval in Principle Actually Means
Admission into ARIP confirms that a company has met the SEC’s requirements to enter the programme and can operate within an approved scope, subject to ongoing compliance and supervisory conditions. The SEC has been explicit that an Approval in Principle is not a final operating licence. It’s a controlled entry point that allows the regulator to observe how a business model performs before broader public rollout.
ARIP itself functions as a regulatory sandbox designed to fast-track the onboarding of digital asset service providers, virtual asset platforms, and tokenised product businesses, while keeping investor protection and market integrity central to the process.
Luno’s Local Standing
Luno entered the Nigerian market in 2015, three years before it says it was founded in Africa in 2013, and has built a sizeable local presence since. Luno Nigeria CEO Ayotunde Alabi described the approval as an important milestone, noting that it gives the company a clearer regulatory pathway and strengthens trust with customers and partners as it expands its focus on institutional and business-to-business opportunities.
The company said the clearance arrives as it deepens engagement with banks, fintechs, payment providers, asset managers, and corporate institutions exploring compliant digital asset solutions, including stablecoin applications and treasury management tools.
A Widening but Still Narrow Path
With this cohort, the total number of firms that have held an Approval in Principle under ARIP since its 2024 launch rises to at least nine. The SEC has repeatedly stressed that ARIP and the Regulatory Incubation programme remain the only lawful channels through which digital asset businesses can serve Nigerian investors, and it has urged the public to verify any platform’s status through its official channels before engaging.
For a market long defined by high crypto adoption but limited regulatory clarity, each new cohort narrows that gap slightly, though full registration under Nigeria’s Digital Assets Rules still lies ahead for every firm on the list.
