The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has officially warned the public about a new meme coin dubbed ‘PUNISHER COIN’ (SPUN), labelling it illegal and cautioning that it has not been approved for public issuance.
In a notice released on Saturday, the commission highlighted that the creators of PUNISHER COIN have not registered with the SEC to operate within Nigeria’s capital market. “And also PUNISHER COIN (SPUN) is not approved by the Commission for issuance to the public,” the notice stated.
According to SEC’s preliminary findings, PUNISHER COIN falls into the category of meme coins. The commission explained: “Meme coins generally have no use case, intrinsic value or tangible projects backing them. Any attributed value to meme coin is usually linked to its promoters or the community effort which most often than not are susceptible to pump and dump schemes (a form of fraudulent activity that involves promoters spreading false or misleading information to create a buying frenzy that ‘pumps’ up the price of a ‘coin’ and then ‘dumps’ the coin by selling their own coins at the inflated price,” it said.
SEC further warned that once promoters sell off their holdings and stop promoting the coin, prices often collapse, leaving unsuspecting investors with losses. The regulator urged the public to avoid participating in any supposed presale of PUNISHER COIN, emphasising that any investment in the scheme is made at the investor’s own risk.
In its advisory, SEC reminded the public that investors should always verify the legitimacy of any crypto, virtual, or digital asset before investing. This includes checking the registration status of both the promoters and their trading platforms through the SEC’s dedicated portal: [https://home.sec.gov.ng/fintech-and-innovation-hub-finpert/registered-fintech-operators/].
With the enactment of the Investment and Securities Act 2025, the SEC now formally oversees digital assets in Nigeria, mandating all virtual asset service providers and digital exchanges to register under its supervision.
This warning comes amid a wave of regulatory enforcement by the SEC in recent months, as the commission steps up efforts to protect investors and uphold the integrity of Nigeria’s financial markets.
In May, the SEC similarly flagged Property World Africa Network (PWAN), along with PWAN MAX and Silverkuun Investment Cooperative Society, for operating without proper approvals.
