Is crypto legal in Nigeria? Rules & regulation (2026)

Legal framework

Investments and Securities Act (ISA) 2025 (Section 357 classifies virtual/digital assets as securities) administered by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); CBN Guidelines on Operations of Bank Accounts for VASPs (Dec 2023); SEC Rules on Issuance, Offering Platforms and Custody of Digital Assets (2022, as amended 2024/2025); SEC Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme (ARIP, June 2024).

Status by sub-area

• Stablecoins

  In force

  The SEC brings stablecoin issuers within the ISA 2025 framework, requiring licensing, reserve backing, KYC/AML and attestation. cNGN (issued by Wrapped CBDC Ltd) launched February 3, 2025 as Nigeria's first SEC-regulated naira-pegged stablecoin under the ARIP incubation programme.

• Exchanges / VASP

  In force

  Digital Asset Exchanges and VASPs must obtain SEC authorization under ISA 2025 and the Digital Assets Rules, with local incorporation, resident CEO/MD, minimum paid-up capital of NGN 2 billion, and CBN VASP banking compliance. Foreign platforms targeting Nigerian users are in scope.

• Token Offerings

  In force

  Digital tokens qualifying as securities under ISA 2025 must be registered with the SEC; issuers and Digital Asset Offering Platforms (DAOPs) must meet disclosure, prospectus and investor-protection requirements set out in the SEC's Rules on Issuance, Offering Platforms and Custody of Digital Assets.

• Custody

  In force

  Digital Asset Custodians (DACs) are a registered category under Part C of the SEC's Digital Assets Rules. They must meet minimum capital, safeguarding, segregation and reporting obligations, with capital requirements now aligned with those for exchanges (NGN 2 billion under the amended rules).

• DeFi

  Partial

  There is no bespoke DeFi framework. DeFi activities are not expressly carved out, so if a protocol or front-end offers activities amounting to securities dealing, exchange or custody in Nigeria, they fall within the SEC's VASP/DAX perimeter under ISA 2025; DAO-specific treatment remains undefined.

  Still pending: DAO-specific treatment remains undefined under ISA 2025

• Tax

  In force

  Digital-asset gains have been taxable since the Finance Act 2023 (10% CGT on disposals). The Nigeria Tax Act / Tax Administration Act 2025, effective January 2026, applies progressive CGT rates (0–25%), ties crypto activity to TIN/NIN identifiers, and makes VASPs responsible for withholding, reporting and flagging suspicious transactions to FIRS.

Key points: crypto & digital assets in Nigeria

1. 01Statutory recognition (ISA 2025)

   The Investments and Securities Act 2025 (signed 31 March 2025) repeals ISA 2007 and, at Section 357, classifies virtual/digital assets and investment contracts as securities under SEC jurisdiction, giving Nigeria a comprehensive in-force statutory basis for crypto regulation.

   uubo.org mariblock.com

2. 02SEC licensing regime and ARIP sandbox

   VASPs, DAX, DAOPs and custodians must register with the SEC. Under the Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme launched June 2024, Busha and Quidax received the first provisional licenses; Luno Nigeria, KuCoin Nigeria, GIGX and others have since been admitted (approval-in-principle) as the SEC phases operators into full authorization.

   techpoint.africa businessday.ng

3. 03CBN lifted banking ban (Dec 2023)

   The Central Bank of Nigeria issued Guidelines on Operations of Bank Accounts for VASPs on 22 December 2023, ending the February 2021 restriction and permitting banks to open accounts for SEC-licensed crypto firms subject to BVN/NIN, KYC/AML and NFIU reporting requirements. Banks themselves still may not trade or hold crypto on their own account.

   afriwise.com ibanet.org

4. 04Capital and localization requirements

   The SEC's amended Digital Assets Rules require digital asset exchanges and custodians to hold minimum paid-up capital of NGN 2 billion (tokenisers NGN 1 billion), with transition until 30 June 2027; VASPs must be Nigerian-incorporated with a resident CEO/MD, and comply with AML/CFT and KYC obligations.

   templars-law.com sec.gov.ng

5. 05Tax treatment

   A 10% capital gains tax on digital-asset disposals was introduced by the Finance Act 2023; the Nigeria Tax Act / Tax Administration Act 2025 (effective January 2026) introduces progressive CGT rates (0–25%), links crypto activity to TIN/NIN, and makes VASPs responsible for withholding, reporting and flagging suspicious transactions to FIRS.

   businessday.ng technext24.com

6. 06Enforcement posture (Binance case)

   Nigeria pursued Binance for allegedly unlicensed operations and FX manipulation, briefly detaining two executives in 2024 and filing tax/economic-loss claims totalling around USD 81.5 billion; the case signaled that offshore platforms serving Nigerian users must obtain SEC authorization or face criminal, tax and asset-freeze exposure.

   dlnews.com mariblock.com

Timeline of decisions

1. 1 Jan 2026Decision
   SEC Raises Minimum Capital Requirements for All Digital-Asset Licence Categories

   Nigeria's SEC imposed new minimum capital thresholds, ₦2 billion for exchanges and custodians, ₦1 billion for tokenisers, with a compliance deadline of 30 June 2027. The move consolidates the ISA 2025 framework and aims to weed out undercapitalised operators before full licensing rolls out.

   Chambers & Partners — Blockchain 2025 Nigeria

2. 25 Mar 2025Law
   Investments and Securities Act 2025 Signed, Crypto Formally Classified as Securities

   President Bola Tinubu signed the ISA 2025 into law, replacing the outdated 2007 Act and explicitly defining digital assets as securities under SEC jurisdiction. The law closes the long-standing regulatory vacuum by imposing licensing, AML compliance, capital adequacy, and cybersecurity requirements on exchanges, custodians, wallet providers, and tokenisers.

   Mariblock

3. 1 Oct 2024Enforcement
   Nigeria Releases Detained Binance Executive Tigran Gambaryan After Eight Months

   Binance's head of financial crime compliance was freed after money-laundering charges were dropped, having suffered malaria, pneumonia, and a herniated disc during detention. The case drew widespread international condemnation and became a cautionary marker of Nigeria's willingness to use executive detention as a tool of crypto enforcement.

   CoinTelegraph

4. 1 Aug 2024Decision
   SEC Grants Nigeria's First Provisional VASP Licences, Quidax, then Busha

   Under its newly launched Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme (ARIP), the SEC issued provisional Digital Asset Exchange licences to Quidax and Busha, the first crypto platforms formally authorised to operate in Nigeria. The grants demonstrated that the post-2021 hard-line stance had genuinely reversed.

   CoinGeek

5. 1 Jun 2024Guidance
   SEC Launches Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme (ARIP) for Crypto Firms

   Nigeria's SEC opened a sandbox-style ARIP pathway allowing crypto startups to obtain provisional licences and operate under supervised conditions pending full licensing. The programme signalled an official pivot from the 2021 prohibition era toward structured regulatory engagement with the industry.

   Mariblock

6. 21 Feb 2024Enforcement
   Nigeria Blocks Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken; Detains Two Binance Executives

   Nigerian telecoms were ordered to block access to major crypto exchanges amid government allegations that Binance's P2P naira market manipulated the exchange rate and facilitated over $26 billion in untraceable flows in 2023. One week later, on 28 February, Nigerian authorities detained Binance executives Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, who had flown to Abuja for negotiations, and charged them with money laundering and tax evasion.

   Mariblock

7. 22 Dec 2023Guidance
   CBN Issues VASP Banking Guidelines, Lifting Crypto Ban

   The CBN reversed its February 2021 crypto ban by issuing Guidelines on the Operation of Bank Accounts for Virtual Assets Service Providers, permitting licensed VASPs to access commercial banking services provided they hold a valid SEC licence and comply with AML/CFT requirements. This ended two years of forced peer-to-peer trading and created a dual CBN-SEC oversight structure for crypto.

   Pavestones Legal (citing CBN circular)

8. 22 Dec 2023Guidance · official
   CBN VASP Guidelines Lift Two-Year Banking Ban on Crypto Businesses

   The Central Bank of Nigeria issued Guideline FPR/DIR/PUB/CIR/002/003, allowing banks to open Designated Settlement Accounts for crypto firms that hold a valid SEC licence. This reversed the February 2021 prohibition, though banks remained barred from directly holding or trading digital assets on their own account.

   Central Bank of Nigeria

9. 11 May 2022Law · official
   SEC Publishes First Comprehensive Digital-Assets Rules, DAOP, DAC, VASP, and DAX Framework

   Nigeria's SEC issued its Rules on Issuance, Offering Platforms and Custody of Digital Assets, creating five regulated categories (issuers, offering platforms, custodians, VASPs, and exchanges) with mandatory whitepapers, fit-and-proper tests, and minimum paid-up capital of ₦500 million for offering platforms. It was the first systematic capital-markets framework for crypto in Nigeria and existed in tension with the concurrent CBN banking ban.

   Securities and Exchange Commission Nigeria

10. 25 Oct 2021Decision · official
    eNaira Launched, Africa's First Central Bank Digital Currency

    President Buhari launched the eNaira CBDC, making Nigeria the second country globally (after the Bahamas) to offer a public CBDC and the first in Africa. Despite aiming to boost financial inclusion and remittances, fewer than 0.5% of Nigerians had used the eNaira within a year of launch.

    International Monetary Fund

11. 5 Feb 2021Decision · official
    CBN Orders All Banks to Identify and Close Crypto-Related Accounts

    The CBN sent a letter to all deposit money banks and financial institutions prohibiting them from processing payments for crypto exchanges and directing them to close any accounts linked to cryptocurrency transactions or exchange operations. This effectively cut off banking rails for the Nigerian crypto industry and drove trading underground into peer-to-peer channels.

    Central Bank of Nigeria

12. 11 Sept 2020Guidance · official
    SEC Formally Classifies Virtual and Digital Assets as Securities

    Nigeria's SEC issued a policy statement recognising virtual and digital assets as securities, adopting recommendations from its Fintech Roadmap Committee. The move created an immediate regulatory contradiction with the CBN's cautious stance and set the stage for years of inter-agency tension.

    Securities and Exchange Commission Nigeria

13. 12 Jan 2017Guidance
    CBN Issues First Warning Circular on Virtual Currencies to Banks

    The CBN issued Circular FPR/DIR/GEN/CIR/06/010 warning banks and financial institutions of AML/CFT risks in virtual currencies, directing them to implement monitoring controls and file suspicious transaction reports for any customer engaged in crypto activities. The circular stopped short of a ban but established the CBN's foundational posture of caution toward digital assets.

    International Bar Association

Sources

1. 1.uubo.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/WHAT-THE-INVESTMENT-AND-SECURITIES-ACT-202
2. 2.sec.gov.ng/documents/8/Rules-on-Issuance-Offering-and-Custody-of-Digital-Assets.
3. 3.templars-law.com/app/uploads/2025/01/SEC-Further-Tightens-Rules-on-Digital-Assets-with
4. 4.afriwise.com/blog/cbn-lifts-ban-on-crypto-banking-transactions
5. 5.ibanet.org/Updated-overview-of-Nigerian-cryptocurrency-landscape
6. 6.mariblock.com/nigerias-president-signs-bill-recognizing-digital-assets-into-law/
7. 7.techpoint.africa/insight/sec-clears-vasps-for-arip/
8. 8.businessday.ng/news/article/tax-overhaul-turns-crypto-from-escape-hatch-to-tax-base/
9. 9.dlnews.com/articles/regulation/binance-faces-legal-ordeal-in-nigeria-amid-81b-us
10. 10.businessday.ng/technology/article/luno-nigeria-becomes-first-global-crypto-exchange-
11. 11.technext24.com/2025/10/05/how-nigeria-plans-to-tax-crypto-2026/
12. 12.mariblock.com/stories/binance-vs-nigeria-the-saga-continues-with-a-billion-dollar-l