NIGERIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Omoruyi Edoigiawerie, Adebomi Adekeye and Habeeb Eyinade, EandC Legal
2. Regulation 2.1 Regulators and International Alignment Multi-Agency Approach Nigeria employs a multi-agency approach to block- chain, where jurisdiction is determined by the func- tional use of the asset. SEC This is the apex regulator for digital assets. Under the ISA 2025, the SEC has exclusive jurisdiction over the registration, issuance and trading of virtual assets (classified as securities). Its approach is “disclosure- led”, focusing on investor protection and market integrity through rigorous licensing. CBN While the CBN does not regulate the assets them- selves, it serves as the gatekeeper of the fiat-to-crypto bridge. Its focus is on “banking-sector ringfencing”, ensuring that VASP activities do not compromise sys- temic monetary stability. Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) This is the central agency for AML/CFT/CPF monitor- ing. The NFIU’s role is purely supervisory, collecting and analysing suspicious transaction reports (STRs) from licensed VASPs to combat illicit financial flows. NRS Responsible for the fiscal integration of blockchain through the NTAA 2025, the NRS focuses on auto- mated tax reporting and identity-linked compliance. International Alignment: the FATF White List Milestone Nigeria’s regulatory trajectory is now fully aligned with international standard-setters, a shift validated by the FATF’s announcement on 24 October 2025, removing Nigeria from its Grey List. FATF (Travel Rule) integration Nigeria has successfully operationalised FATF Rec- ommendation 15 by embedding the Travel Rule into the Money Laundering Act 2022 and the 2026 CBN Pilot Scheme. This requires VASPs to share originator and beneficiary information for transactions, meeting global transparency standards.
IOSCO alignment The SEC’s 2026 rules on digital asset exchanges (DAX) and custodians (DAC) were developed in direct consultation with IOSCO’s crypto-policy recommen- dations. This includes mandatory asset segregation, conflict-of-interest disclosures, and the 2026 NGN2 billion capital buffer designed to mirror global pruden- tial standards. Following the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) guidelines, the CBN’s approach to interoperable rails ensures that private stablecoins and CBDCs (such as the eNaira) do not operate in a vacuum but are integrated into a supervised national payment archi- tecture. The removal from the FATF Grey List in late 2025 is the single most important credibility signal for the Nigerian market in the last decade. The authors view this not just as a compliance victory but as a structural shift that has unlocked institutional dry powder from global funds previously restricted from investing in Nigerian digital assets. The 2026 regulatory environment is no longer about restricting crypto, but about exporting Nigerian digital securities to a global audience under IOSCO-compliant frameworks. 2.2 Crypto-Asset Regulatory Frameworks Characterisation of Crypto-Assets Nigerian regulators follow a “substance over form” approach. Under the ISA 2025, assets are categorised based on their functional economic reality. • Securities/virtual assets – virtually all digital assets that are traded, transferred or used for investment are characterised as securities. This is the default classification, placing them under the exclusive jurisdiction of the SEC. • Chargeable assets – from a fiscal perspective, the Nigerian Tax Administration Act (NTAA) 2025 char- acterises all crypto-assets as intangible property (chargeable assets), ensuring that they are subject to capital gains and income tax. • Commodities – utility tokens may be treated as commodities only if they are traded on a rec- ognised investment exchange, though the SEC retains oversight of the platform itself.
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