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Crypto Gambling

Nigeria Crypto Currency: What SEC, CBN and Tax Rules Say

SEC has admitted Yellow Card and KuCoin Nigeria to its crypto sandbox, but not as full licences. Banks may serve exchanges and the tax office has rules.

Report fileNo. 202
Filed by
Nigeria Casino Newsroom
Filed on
Zone
Crypto Gambling / Regulation
Reading time
3 min
Sections
Who licenses a crypto currency exchange in Nigeria? / Which exchanges the SEC has admitted to ARIP / What an approval-in-principle does and does not mean / Can Nigerian banks deal with crypto? / How the tax office treats virtual assets / Reader questions / Filed from these sources
A rubber stamp leaves an unfinished green seal beside a small columned regulator building, a blank coin and a padlock.
Illustration: A rubber stamp leaves an unfinished green seal beside a small columned regulator building, a blank coin and a padlock.

Nigeria crypto currency rules now come from three desks, not one. The Securities and Exchange Commission decides which exchanges may operate, and the firms it has admitted so far hold only an approval-in-principle, which the SEC says is not a final licence. The Central Bank of Nigeria lets banks serve crypto firms but keeps banks themselves out of coins, and the Nigeria Revenue Service has now written down how virtual assets are taxed.

That is a long way from the bank ban many readers still remember. Here is what the official texts say, as of October 2026.

Who licenses a crypto currency exchange in Nigeria?

The SEC does. When the CBN reopened bank accounts to the sector, its guidelines stressed that virtual asset service providers must get licensing from the Nigerian SEC before doing crypto business.

In practice the SEC has been bringing exchanges in through its Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme (ARIP). Admission comes with an approval-in-principle, and that approval lets a firm operate only within the defined scope of the Programme and on conditions the Commission sets.

Which exchanges the SEC has admitted to ARIP

The latest crypto currency in Nigeria news from the regulator is a pair of admission notices this year. The table lists the firms by name, as the SEC printed them.

FirmSEC noticeStatus
GIGX Technologies3 July 2026Approval-in-principle
KuCoin Nigeria Limited3 July 2026Approval-in-principle
Pisi Payments Solution Limited12-13 August 2026Approval-in-principle
BC Access (Nigeria) Limited12-13 August 2026Approval-in-principle
Yellow Card (YC) Financial Limited12-13 August 2026Approval-in-principle

The July notice cleared GIGX Technologies and KuCoin Nigeria into the programme. The August statement added Pisi, BC Access and Yellow Card.

What an approval-in-principle does and does not mean

An approval-in-principle is permission to operate inside a sandbox, not a permanent licence. The SEC says it remains conditional on continued compliance with regulatory, operational and supervisory obligations. If a firm slips, the approval can go.

For a naira user, that means two things. A firm on the list is known to the regulator and works under its conditions. A firm not on the list has no such standing from these notices, whatever its adverts say.

Can Nigerian banks deal with crypto?

Banks may now open and run accounts for crypto firms, but they still cannot touch the coins. The CBN circular of 22 December 2023 lifted the old restriction on serving the sector, while banks remain barred from trading or holding cryptocurrencies on their own books.

So your bank can move naira to and from a licensed or admitted exchange. It cannot sell you Bitcoin or keep it for you.

How the tax office treats virtual assets

Crypto is now inside the tax net on paper. The Nigeria Revenue Service guidelines of 31 July 2026 cover income tax, VAT and stamp duty on virtual assets.

The guidelines sort assets into six groups: cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, security tokens, utility tokens, NFTs and sovereign digital currencies. How each group is taxed in detail is a subject for a separate report.

Reader questions

What crypto exchanges are available in Nigeria?

The names to check first are the ones on the SEC's own lists. Its July 2026 notice admitted GIGX Technologies and KuCoin Nigeria Limited, and its August 2026 statement added Pisi Payments, BC Access and Yellow Card. Each holds an approval-in-principle, not a final licence.

Is an SEC approval-in-principle the same as a licence?

No. The SEC says plainly that an approval-in-principle is conditional on the operator's continued compliance and is not a final licence, so it can fall away if the firm stops meeting its obligations.

Can a Nigerian bank hold Bitcoin for me?

No. Under the CBN's December 2023 guidelines, banks may bank crypto firms but may not hold cryptocurrencies themselves.

Filed from these sources

End of report No. 202
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