nigeria

According to Bloomberg, the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the listing and trading of blockchain-based traditional stock tokenized assets on the NASD OTC Securities Exchange.The NASD OTC Securities Exchange plans to officially launch this service in early September, allowing companies to issue tokenized versions of traditional stocks through blockchain technology, aimed at promoting the development of Nigeria's capital market.

According to The Nation Online, the Nigerian Tax Authority has released the "Virtual Asset Taxation Guidelines," officially incorporating cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, NFTs, and other blockchain digital assets into the country's tax system. The guidelines were published on July 31 and provide the first detailed framework for taxing the income from assets such as cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, governance tokens, and NFTs.The guidelines stipulate that income generated from the disposal, exchange, or transfer of virtual assets must be taxed according to Nigerian tax law, and income from blockchain activities such as mining, staking, validating, airdrops, and token rewards is also subject to taxation. Virtual assets must be valued at the market price of exchange platforms recognized by the tax authority. Individuals and businesses must maintain complete transaction records, and virtual asset service providers must register for taxation and report large or suspicious transactions. The SEC continues to regulate securities-type virtual assets, while the tax authority is responsible for tax management. The guidelines do not set a separate tax rate for cryptocurrencies but apply existing tax law provisions. The guidelines follow President Bola Tinubu's executive order on establishing a coordinated regulatory framework for virtual assets.

Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has signed an executive order to coordinate the regulation of virtual assets, strengthen cooperation among the country's financial, tax, and capital market institutions, and address the fragmentation of digital asset regulation. The executive order establishes a virtual asset committee composed of heads of Nigeria's main financial regulatory agencies, responsible for guiding relevant policies. The Nigerian tax authorities will update digital asset policies and provide more details on their impact on taxpayers.The President's Special Adviser Bayo Onanuga stated that the executive order does not establish new regulatory bodies nor transfer power between institutions; each agency retains its statutory responsibilities and independence, and registration requirements will be determined based on the nature of the activities and the assets involved. A report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in June indicated that since 2019, Nigeria has accounted for about 60% of the stablecoin inflows to sub-Saharan Africa; from July 2023 to June 2024, the country's cryptocurrency inflows are estimated to be around $59 billion.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has signed an executive order on virtual assets aimed at regulating virtual assets and combating unregistered operators. The measure has taken effect immediately and will establish a new supervisory framework to coordinate the fragmented regulatory environment.The newly established Virtual Assets Committee will serve as the main policy-making and coordinating body, chaired by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), with the Federal Inland Revenue Service and the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (NSEC) as vice-chairs. An Office of Virtual Assets will be set up within the CBN to handle daily inter-agency operations and information sharing. Securities-related financial activities will be managed by the NSEC, while payment, settlement, and custody services for non-securities virtual assets will be managed by the CBN.The CBN plans to launch a regulatory sandbox that allows qualified operators to test virtual asset products and blockchain solutions in a monitored environment. The Virtual Assets Committee is required to develop an implementation framework for the executive order within 30 days.

According to The Block, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stated that the widespread adoption of dollar-pegged stablecoins in Nigeria is challenging the country's existing monetary policy and regulatory framework.The IMF pointed out that the devaluation of the naira, high inflation, and limited access to official foreign exchange are driving local households and small to medium-sized enterprises to turn to stablecoins for cross-border payments and to hedge against exchange rate risks.

According to Premium Times, the Nigerian Senate passed a bill on Tuesday aimed at regulating cryptocurrency, protecting investors, and strengthening the digital economy. The bill passed its second reading and has been submitted to the Capital Market Committee for further review, with a report due in four weeks.The bill was introduced by Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin and aims to establish a comprehensive regulatory framework for virtual assets, digital assets, and virtual asset service providers. It mandates that cryptocurrency exchanges apply for licenses and comply with transparency and regulatory requirements. Chief Whip Tahir Monguno stated during the debate that although Nigeria is one of the countries with the highest cryptocurrency adoption rates in Africa, it has fallen behind several African nations in regulating the digital financial ecosystem. The lack of a clear legal framework exposes investors to risks and allows illegal activities to thrive in the industry.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently launched a regulatory pilot program for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP). The first batch of participating institutions includes several regional fintech and digital asset companies, among which KuCoin is the only selected global exchange.The pilot focuses on compliance with anti-money laundering (AML), counter-terrorism financing (CFT), and counter-proliferation financing (CPF), aiming to strengthen risk management and regulatory capabilities in the digital asset industry, and align with international standards such as those set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).According to the arrangements, participating institutions are required to conduct structured regulatory communications, submit regulatory data regularly, and advance compliance practices in key areas such as corporate governance, transaction monitoring, sanctions screening, and cross-border transaction "Travel Rule."KuCoin CEO BC Wong stated that constructive regulatory dialogue is an important foundation for the long-term sustainable development of the digital asset industry, and the company will continue to strengthen communication and cooperation with global regulatory agencies to promote transparency and enhance risk management capabilities.The market generally believes that this selection reflects KuCoin's ongoing progress in advancing compliance strategies globally, while also indicating that Nigeria is moving towards a more systematic and forward-looking phase in digital asset regulation.

According to TechCabal, the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has released new regulations. Under the new framework, digital asset exchanges and digital asset custodians that operate trading venues and safeguard users' digital assets must maintain a minimum capital requirement of 200 million naira (approximately 1.4 million USD), up from the previous 500 million naira.In other categories, the minimum capital requirement for Digital Asset Offering Platforms (DAOP) and RWA tokenization platforms is set at 1 billion naira, while digital asset intermediaries and related service providers are required to maintain between 300 million to 500 million naira. The new regulations mandate that the relevant institutions must meet these standards by June 30, 2027, or they may face suspension or revocation of their licenses.

Cointelegraph posted on the X platform that Nigeria now requires cryptocurrency transactions to be linked with Tax IDs and National IDs.

According to market news, the Nigerian government has linked cryptocurrency transactions to real identities through a new tax law using Tax Identification Numbers (TIN) and National Identification Numbers (NIN), making cryptocurrency transactions traceable and included in the tax reporting system without the need to crack the blockchain itself.Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) are required to collect and report customer TIN/NIN, name, address, and other information, while also submitting transaction data to tax authorities on a monthly basis as required, and reporting large or suspicious transactions to law enforcement agencies.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cryptonews, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Olayemi Cardoso announced after the World Bank and International Monetary Fund annual meetings in Washington that the central bank has collaborated with the Ministry of Finance and other financial regulatory bodies to establish a dedicated working group to assess the framework and impact of launching an official Nigerian stablecoin.According to IMF 2023 data, only 0.5% of Nigerians adopted the eNaira one year after its launch, with 98.5% of wallets remaining inactive. Although the number of eNaira wallets reached 13 million at the beginning of 2024, most of them are unused.

ChainCatcher message, the encrypted payment protocol AEON announced that its Web3 mobile crypto payment tool AEON Pay has been launched in Nigeria, allowing users to pay merchants' bank accounts with cryptocurrency.This feature is integrated with the interbank settlement system NIBSS under the Central Bank of Nigeria, promoting the application of crypto assets in local daily payments. It is reported that AEON Pay has already been launched in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam and the Philippines, and is set to expand to Latin American regions such as Brazil and Mexico.

ChainCatcher news, according to Decrypt, the U.S. Department of Justice announced on Wednesday that a Nigerian fraudster successfully scammed a donor out of $250,000 in cryptocurrency by impersonating Steve Witkoff, co-chair of the Trump-Vance inauguration committee.It is reported that the fraudster sent an email on December 24, 2024, using a clever domain spoofing technique—replacing the lowercase letter "i" in the official email "@t47inaugural.com" with a visually similar lowercase letter "l," resulting in "@t47lnaugural.com." The victim was deceived and transferred 250,300 Ethereum-based USDT stablecoins to a cryptocurrency wallet controlled by the fraudster on December 26.The FBI successfully recovered 40,300 USDT through blockchain transaction tracking, with the assistance of Tether, and these funds are currently undergoing civil forfeiture proceedings to compensate the victim. Experts warn that as the political sphere becomes more accepting of cryptocurrency, such scams targeting crypto donations may increase, and AI and deepfake technology will further amplify the scale and complexity of fraudulent activities.

ChainCatcher news, according to News.Bitcoin, the Nigerian terrorist organization Boko Haram is increasingly relying on cryptocurrency, mobile payments, and other digital tools to fund its activities, obtaining millions through ransom, looting, and forced "zakat" donations. Experts refer to these digital financing methods as a "blind spot" in the fight against terrorism. Nigeria's vast and largely unregulated cryptocurrency market, driven by economic demand, inadvertently facilitates this threat.Experts like Oge Samuel Okonkwo point out that Boko Haram utilizes the decentralized nature of cryptocurrency for low-cost operations, including arms procurement, and benefits from the massive daily digital transactions in Nigeria. The organization's cross-border activities have also been enhanced by the convenient digital transfer characteristics of cryptocurrency.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bitcoin.com, the troubled Nigerian crypto exchange Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX) has recently announced new withdrawal options in an effort to restore investor confidence.Sources revealed that the company made this announcement amid rumors of impending closure. According to the new regulations, investors holding funds not exceeding $1,000 on the platform must pay a fee of $100 to withdraw 50% of their initial funds, which is expected to be released on June 20, 2025. CBEX has been accused of misappropriating funds from over 600,000 Nigerian users, leading the Nigerian SEC to declare the platform illegal. Despite the introduction of new withdrawal options, some users remain skeptical about the company's true situation, believing that this activation fee could be a potential scam to extract more money from Nigerians.

According to ChainCatcher, as reported by Forbes, Nigerian President Tinubu signed the Investment And Securities Act 2025 last month, officially classifying Bitcoin and other digital assets as securities. This marks the first official recognition of Bitcoin's legal status by Nigerian regulators.The new law will grant the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulatory authority over Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), Digital Asset Operators (DAOPs), and Digital Asset Exchanges (DAEs). The law also imposes strict penalties against Ponzi schemes, with violators facing fines of at least 20 million Naira (approximately $12,430) and up to 10 years in prison.Although Nigeria has been one of the countries with the highest Bitcoin adoption rates and P2P trading volumes globally, the country previously lacked a clear regulatory framework for digital assets. Bitnob CEO Bernard Parah stated, "Having clearer regulations is a good thing. Now that this step is completed, it will be easier to further amend specific provisions as the industry matures."

ChainCatcher news, according to News.bitcoin, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on April 9 that a Nigerian man has been charged in Massachusetts with orchestrating a complex romance scam that defrauded victims of over $2.5 million, funneling the funds into cryptocurrency accounts he secretly managed.According to prosecutors, the man created false online identities from 2016 to 2019, establishing fake romantic relationships with victims across the United States. He currently faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.

ChainCatcher news, the Nigerian court has postponed the hearing of the tax evasion case against Binance until April 30, to allow the tax authorities to respond to the legal motions filed by Binance. The Federal Inland Revenue Service of Nigeria accuses Binance of failing to pay corporate income tax and penalties for 2022 and 2023, totaling over $79 billion in claims. Binance questions the legality of the court's delivery of legal documents via email, stating that its headquarters is in the Cayman Islands and it has no physical presence in Nigeria.