Nigeria
Digital assets became securities by statute in 2025, ending years of contradictory signals between the central bank and the securities regulator.
Who regulates this
Securities and Exchange Commission, NigeriaSEC
Digital assets as securities under the Investments and Securities Act 2025, and the 2022 Rules on Issuance, Offering Platforms and Custody of Digital Assets.
Central Bank of NigeriaCBN
Banking access for crypto businesses.
Licences and permissions
Digital Asset Exchange / VASP registration with the SEC
Operating an exchange, offering platform or custody service.
The Investments and Securities Act 2025, signed in March 2025, recognises digital assets as securities and puts the SEC squarely in charge.
What it takes
Capital
Set by SEC rules and historically substantial relative to the market — check the current schedule, as the framework is being rebuilt around the 2025 Act.
Timeline
Uncertain and evolving. Treat published timelines as provisional.
Substance
A Nigerian entity with local directors.
Where a software vendor sits
The registration attaches to the operator. Software supply is not a registrable activity under the SEC rules.
What catches people out
The policy history matters here. The CBN barred banks from servicing crypto transactions in February 2021, which pushed enormous volume into peer-to-peer channels, then reversed in December 2023 to permit banks to serve licensed firms. Banking access, not the licence itself, has repeatedly been the binding constraint — diligence your banking route before your licensing route.
Verify this yourself
We would rather you checked. These are the primary and authoritative secondary sources behind the summary above.