Economy
Crypto Exchanges – How to Choose the Right One
With the prevalence of cryptocurrencies in the digital age, many businesses and investors regularly use the crypto market to build their portfolios and gradually amass a passive income. However, due to the volatility of the market and fluctuations in prices, trading can be risky, as prospectors may lose all their deposited funds with no reward. Crypto exchanges operate as platforms to help you navigate the cryptocurrency market.
Qualities of a Digital Currency Exchange
These facilities make accessing the crypto market more convenient for you. Before exchanges existed, you had to use a command line and type in a command to send crypto coins to your peers. Over time, developers designed user interfaces to make the process easier as cryptocurrency acquired a mass audience of people interested in the cryptoverse and performing related transactions.
Financial Security
Whether you want to buy Bitcoin in Nigeria or another digital coin, you must be cautious of scams and frauds that could mislead you into giving away your personal information. Secure exchanges will offer transparent services and be open about what they contribute and how they use your sensitive information. They will provide a privacy policy describing what details they employ and for what purpose. Secondly, legit services typically have a physical address for their headquarters. You will know the legal ramifications of your expenditures and how to confront issues if you have the address. Otherwise, you will lose money and need to understand where it went.
Reputable Services
The best cryptocurrency exchanges will have positive reviews with testimonies about the offered services. Remember, you need to be able to trust this financial institution before you confide your private data, including identifiable and monetary information, in it. What have other users said about the platform’s security? How is the exchange’s customer service? Reviews should be able to answer your questions about the facility and whether you should invest in it.
Pairs and Transaction Fees
Some platforms offer access to hundreds of pairs, while others provide trading options for only a few. The platform you choose depends on your needs and how diverse you want your portfolio to be.
Remember that most exchanges may incur transaction fees depending on the transaction size, network-related costs, and your account activity. Because crypto transactions occur on the blockchain, blockchain participants require a processing fee for their work on the chain. Some exchanges may charge fees for the transaction, so if you plan to trade daily, consider one with a fair payment.
ChangeNOW As an Effective Service
Founded in 2017, ChangeNOW is a quick and efficient exchange facility. Its headquarters are in Seychelles, and it is operated by proficient blockchain developers. It has over 70,000 trading pairs and 700 coins available with no trading limits. You may perform a high-value transaction at will, and ChangeNOW will process it as swiftly as possible. Typically, its processing speed is between 5 and 20 minutes, but larger blocks take longer to convert.
As a non-custodial exchange service, ChangeNOW has your personal safety and financial protection in mind because it does not require registering to use its services. Instead, you only need a crypto wallet and its payout address to hold your assets. In this way, you do not need to worry about financial theft while using the platform. Its servers do not store identifiable information; you remain anonymous with ChangeNOW.
When you are ready to make a crypto trade, ChangeNOW finds and offers the best exchange rate, ensuring you get the best price. Multiple trading platforms like Binance and Kucoin have integrated ChangeNOW to provide these rates. With any swap, the platform only charges network or mining fees; it does not impose service fees.
In addition to swapping cryptocurrency pairs, you can buy crypto through ChangeNOW using fiat currency. The platform uses Simplex, a third party, to handle these transactions so you can utilize Visa, Mastercard, and other card providers to purchase crypto. Keep in mind network fees apply to these transactions depending on the currency.
The Bottom Line
Do your research before officially choosing a platform, and be aware of the associated risks with crypto trading. If hackers compromise a service, your funds may disappear. However, knowing an exchange’s trustworthiness and authenticity can help you decide how secure your digital assets will be.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has unveiled plans to make sustainability reporting mandatory for large public interest entities from 2027.
This comes as Nigeria moves to align its corporate disclosure framework with global environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting standards.
The phased implementation will begin with voluntary adoption by early adopters and large public interest entities before becoming mandatory in 2027. The requirement will extend to other public interest entities in 2028 and small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) by 2030.
The Director-General of the SEC, Mr Emomotimi Agama, disclosed this at the 2026 Financial Institutions Training Centre (FITC) Sustainability and ESG Conference 3.0, themed ‘Building a Sustainable Africa: Integrating Environmental Stewardship, Social Investment, and Strong Governance for a Prosperous Future’ in Lagos.
Mr Agama said Nigeria’s sustainability disclosure regime is being aligned with the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) framework, including IFRS S1 and IFRS S2, which have emerged as the global benchmark for sustainability reporting.
He said that institutional investors increasingly consider ESG performance a key determinant of capital allocation rather than a peripheral corporate responsibility issue, noting that the price of entry is disclosure.
He said the reforms would strengthen investor confidence and position Nigerian businesses to access global capital markets, where sustainability disclosures are becoming an essential investment requirement.
According to him, Nigeria’s capital market has recorded significant expansion, with market capitalisation growing from about N130 trillion to nearly N160 trillion following recent market reforms, while assets under management have surpassed N9 trillion.
To deepen sustainable finance, Agama said the commission was promoting infrastructure, green and municipal bonds, alongside infrastructure-focused investment funds, to mobilise long-term capital for critical national projects.
He added that the commission would also encourage investments in the blue economy and support financing for the power sector through green energy bonds, project bonds and public-private investment structures.
The SEC chief cited the recent launch of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Impact Board as another milestone in advancing sustainable finance and urged companies, regulators and investors to move beyond commitments by embedding sustainability into governance, operations and investment decisions.
Economy
International Breweries Plans Share Capital Reduction to Remove N191bn Losses, Enable Dividend Payout
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The board of International Breweries Plc is proposing a share capital reduction exercise to enable it to pay dividends from future profits.
The brewery firm has been unable to give shareholders a cash reward despite bouncing back into profitability because of accumulated losses of up to N191 billion.
To resolve this issue, which is becoming worrisome to the company’s investors, the board is planning to apply a portion of the balance in the Share Premium Account to eliminate the accumulated losses.
In a notice signed by its scribe, Temitope Oluwatosin, International Breweries informed the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited and the investing public that the share capital reduction should restore distributable reserves and re-establish its capacity to pay dividends to shareholders.
It was disclosed that the transaction would be “executed pursuant to the provisions of Section 131 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020 (as amended), subject to the appropriate regulatory approval and confirmation by the Federal High Court.”
“Following the elimination of accumulated losses, the company proposes a further reduction of the Share Premium Account to enable the return of capital to shareholders.
“The amount payable per ordinary share will be distributed on a pro rata basis, determined with reference to the total amount approved by the board for distribution from the Share Premium Account,” a part of the disclosure stated.
International Breweries noted that shareholders would be required to vote on the proposed share capital reduction at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM) scheduled for the Grand Ballroom of the Federal Palace Hotel, Lagos, on Thursday, July 30, 2026, at 11.00 am.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The submission of the second quarter of 2026 Ownership Structure and Capital Flows Returns by capital market operators in Nigeria closes today, Friday, July 10, 2026.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) gave all registrars, brokers/dealers, fund managers and other relevant capital market operators this deadline via a statement on Wednesday, July 8, 2026.
The documents are needed in support of the compilation of Nigeria’s Balance of Payments (BOP) and International Investment Position (IIP) statistics.
According to the SEC, the exercise forms part of ongoing efforts to improve the quality, coverage, and reliability of Nigeria’s external sector statistics.
Operators are required to provide quarterly data on new equity and debt investments by residents and non-residents; equity and debt holdings of non-residents in Nigerian entities and those of Nigerian residents in foreign entities; investments arising from mergers, acquisitions, and other business combinations involving resident and non-resident entities; and other cross-border capital market transactions.
Specifically, reporting entities are required to submit information on investments in newly issued equities and debt securities; foreign portfolio investment holdings in Nigerian companies; ownership interests arising from business combinations involving non-residents; investments by multinational corporations in the Nigerian capital market; equity investments held abroad by resident companies; and bond investments held abroad by resident companies.
The regulator reminded operators that accurate and timely reporting is critical to the compilation of reliable BOP and IIP statistics, directing all fund managers, brokers/dealers, registrars, and other relevant capital market operators to ensure full and timely compliance with this reporting requirement.
It thanked those who have consistently complied with this requirement and acknowledged their contribution to this important national assignment.
It noted that the submission of ownership structure and capital flows data is a continuous quarterly reporting obligation, advising them to carefully review the guidance accompanying each reporting template and ensure that all submissions are complete, accurate, and submitted within the stipulated timeline.
