Nigeria has swung harder than any major market. The central bank's 2021 prohibition on banks servicing crypto ended in December 2023, replaced by guidelines allowing accounts for licensed VASPs. The Investments and Securities Act 2025, signed in March 2025, then did what no prior law had: it defines digital and virtual assets as securities and puts virtual asset service providers, exchanges, and digital asset offerings squarely under the Securities and Exchange Commission, which runs licensing through its incubation program while ordering unregistered platforms out of the market.
Enforcement remains volatile. The state's 2024 confrontation with Binance, detentions, tax charges, and a multi-billion-dollar suit, signalled that access to Nigerian users without registration carries real risk, and the 2025 collapse of the CBEX ponzi scheme hardened the SEC's stance against unregistered platforms. With among the world's highest grassroots adoption and persistent naira pressure, the gap between the licensed perimeter and actual peer-to-peer practice is the defining feature.
The instruments
Investments and Securities Act 2025
Recognizes digital and virtual assets as securities, brings VASPs, digital asset operators, and exchanges under SEC jurisdiction, and criminalizes ponzi and unregistered investment schemes with substantial penalties; SEC licensing proceeds through its accelerated incubation program.
CBN guidelines on bank accounts for VASPs
Lifts the 2021 ban on banking crypto businesses: banks may open designated accounts for SEC-licensed VASPs under enhanced due diligence, while banks themselves remain barred from holding or trading crypto.