Economy
Bitfinex Exchange Lists PRMX Prema Token
By Adedapo Adesanya
Leading crypto exchange, Bitfinex, has announced the listing of the Prema token or PRMX as it is known by its ticker, a utility token that acts as the native token within the Prema platform.
The listing will help drive Prema’s strategy to build out its tech around the ability to link blockchain-based Web3 digital collectibles in the form of NFTs to tangible items in the real world.
It has a limited supply of 100 Billion PRMX tokens, which are the primary utility token for minting NFTs, creating marketplaces, interacting across chains, on-chain governance, fees, and payments within the ecosystem and its Decentralised Applications (DApps).
The Prema platform consists of the Prema X NFT marketplace, Prema’s wallet, and the NFT traceability system. This is a unique system of IRL (In Real Life) and URL (UnReal Life) categorisation, which allows NFTs in the virtual world to be tied to events and physical items in the actual world through the innovative use of NFC and AQR technologies.
According to a blog post from Bitfinex, these collectibles would be both usable in the physical world while also being fully integrated into the Web3 Metaverse of decentralised NFT marketplaces, blockchain-based play-to-earn games, virtual worlds, and decentralised social media.
Prema is currently in an early stage of development, with tokens existing as an ERC-20 token in an Ethereum smart contract, but plans are underway to launch the Prema blockchain and platform later in the third quarter of the year (Q3 2023).
Currently, the Prema team is working on the development of core technologies within the Prema wallet, namely implementing the NFC and AQR technologies for the traceability system, which will be employed to track digital content and collectibles linked with tangible objects.
Prema is still an ERC-20 token in an Ethereum smart contract, pending the time that the Prema platform launches and deploys the Prema blockchain.
After this, users can expect the Prema token to either be an ERC-20 token on their native chain if it employs an EVM-based tokenisation scheme or another type of token standard based on the team’s technical decisions for launching Prema’s blockchain.
Prema claims it is unique because it is one of the first projects which actually has a feasible idea for linking digital collectibles to the physical world by using NFC and AQR technologies.
Based in Singapore, Prema is catering to regional markets, with its most notable NFT collections being projects like “Japanese comedians collectible cards” and its “Judo Colleca” and “K-Pop” series of NFTs, which cater to Asian audiences.
Prema’s goal is to interconnect the various existing technologies already present within Web3 into one convenient platform while also bridging the gap between the digital collectibles and physical collectibles worlds.
Prema’s upcoming blockchain will be Proof of Stake (PoS) based, and users of the platform will be incentivised to lock tokens up via staking through an array of benefits, including priority guidance for Free Mint and White List of NFTs, priority guidance for use in NFT’s URL and IRL, discounts on trading commissions, and access to platform extensions.
With such benefits, creators and content producers can realise actual benefits for staking, especially if they’re active users of the platform and are actively producing and selling content or merchandise and taking advantage of Prema’s URL/IRL technology to offer next-generation content and collectibles which cross over from the virtual world to the physical.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has defended its decision to allow Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) to invest in the parent companies of their custodians, insisting that adequate safeguards are in place to protect contributors’ funds.
The director-general of the pension regulator, Ms Omolola Oloworaran, speaking on Tuesday during the Meet the Press Briefing at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said the commission’s decision to relax the investment restriction followed a comprehensive risk assessment that found minimal conflict of interest.
She explained that under PenCom’s investment regulations, PFAs are only permitted to invest pension assets in carefully selected instruments that meet stringent criteria, including profitability, strong credit ratings and proven track records.
According to her, the commission regularly reviews its investment regulations, conducts routine examinations and spot checks on PFAs to ensure strict compliance with established risk management guidelines.
“PFAs cannot just go into the stock market and buy any kind of stock. There are strict guidelines. Companies must demonstrate profitability, have a proven track record and satisfy other criteria before pension funds can invest,” she said.
Ms Oloworaran noted that each PFA also operates under the oversight of a board, an investment committee and a risk management committee, providing additional layers of governance to safeguard contributors’ funds.
She said PenCom recently issued a circular allowing PFAs to invest in the parent companies of their custodians after determining that the potential conflict of interest was negligible.
The PenCom boss explained that the parent companies involved are largely Tier-1 banks, including First Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Zenith Bank, which she described as A-rated institutions with strong financial foundations.
She said the policy was intended to widen investment opportunities for pension funds without compromising safety.
Using Stanbic IBTC as an example, Ms Oloworaran explained that if its custodian is Zenith Bank, the previous restriction prevented the pension administrator from investing in Zenith Bank shares despite the bank’s strong performance.
“We reviewed the risks and any potential conflict of interest and found the risks to be very low. That is why we opened that investment window,” she said.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Analysts at Meristem Research have predicted that the inflation rate for June 2026 in Nigeria should marginally rise to 15.95 per cent on a year-on-year basis from the 15.93 per cent reported in May 2026.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is expected to release inflation numbers for last month later today, Wednesday, July 15, 2026.
In its report sighted by Business Post, Meristem Research said it expects inflationary pressures to re-emerge across key economies in the near term, as the re-escalation of the US-Iran conflict has reignited upward pressure on global oil prices.
It disclosed that this marks a sharp reversal from most of June, when the ceasefire between the two countries helped drive oil prices lower, raising expectations of some relief on the inflation front.
With conflicts now flaring up again, oil prices are likely to increase again, and the anticipated easing in energy-driven inflation may not materialise as broadly as earlier envisaged.
“Nonetheless, some relief is likely from the food segment, where robust supply conditions across major producing regions and softening demand should continue to ease food price pressures,” it stated.
The team also explained that it projected a 15.95 per cent inflation rate because of the lingering effects of persistent food price pressures.
“However, we expect core inflation to moderate as the sharp reversal in energy prices begins to filter through to transportation, distribution, and other energy-related costs, easing underlying price pressures.
“On a month-on-month basis, the combined effect of lower petrol prices, a relatively stable Naira, and the gradual pass-through of reduced energy costs across the supply chain should exert further downward pressure on inflation.
“Based on our assessment, food inflation is expected to remain the key swing factor, as seasonal pre-harvest supply constraints are likely to offset some of the gains from lower logistics costs,” it said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The duo of Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and Afriland Properties Plc weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.61 per cent on Tuesday, July 14.
CSCS Plc saw its stock value drop N9.08 to close at N82.40 per share compared with the preceding session’s N91.48 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc slid by 17 Kobo to sell at N15.00 per unit versus N15.70 per unit.
The losses recorded by the two securities pulled back the market capitalisation by N41.64 billion to N2.546 trillion from N2.587 trillion, and cracked the NASD Security Index (NSI) by 69.36 points to 4,242.31 points from 4,311.67 points.
It was observed that the exchange witnessed two price advancers during the session, led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which gained N1.37 to end at N151.37 per share compared with the previous day’s N150.00 per share, and Food Concepts Plc chalked up 5 Kobo to settle at N2.50 per unit versus N2.45 per unit.
The volume of securities traded by market participants surged by 50.7 per cent to 13.7 million units from the previous 9.1 million units, while the value of securities went down by 79.7 per cent to N65.2 million from N320.4 million, and the number of deals crashed by 3.6 per cent to 27 deals from the previous session’s 28 deals.
At the close of transactions, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with the sale of 3.4 billion units for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc, which exchanged 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units transacted for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the trading day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million.
