When it comes to Nigerian crypto regulations, the official rules set by the Central Bank of Nigeria and SEC Nigeria that control how citizens can buy, sell, and hold digital assets. Also known as Nigeria's cryptocurrency policy, these rules have gone from outright bans to confusing gray zones—without ever giving clear permission. You can’t use crypto to pay for coffee in Lagos, but you can still buy Bitcoin on Binance using P2P. That’s the reality.
The Central Bank of Nigeria, the country’s monetary authority that issued the 2021 banking ban on crypto transactions. Also known as CBN, it still blocks Nigerian banks from processing crypto deposits or withdrawals. But that didn’t stop people. Millions kept trading using peer-to-peer platforms like Paxful and Binance P2P, often with bank transfers disguised as personal payments. Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Commission Nigeria, the government body that now oversees crypto as securities and requires exchanges to register. Also known as SEC Nigeria, it launched a licensing system in 2023—but only a handful of platforms made it through. Most local traders don’t even know if their exchange is approved.
There’s no official crypto tax law yet, but the Federal Inland Revenue Service has started asking people to declare digital asset gains. No one’s being audited for small trades, but if you’re buying property with crypto or earning big from DeFi, they’re watching. And while the CBN keeps threatening to shut down P2P platforms, they haven’t done it—not because they can’t, but because they can’t stop millions of Nigerians from using crypto to protect their savings from inflation. The real story isn’t in the laws. It’s in the apps, the WhatsApp groups, and the traders who’ve figured out how to move money without banks.
What you’ll find below are real reviews and breakdowns of exchanges, scams, and regulatory loopholes that Nigerians actually use. No fluff. No theory. Just what works—and what gets your funds frozen.
29 September
Nigeria lifted crypto bans in 2025 with new regulations, but enforcement remains inconsistent. Learn what’s legal, who’s licensed, and how traders are navigating the messy transition.
