What this page is and is not. It is not a real-time news feed — we serve static pages and would rather publish a dated, accurate digest than a stale ticker. It is a record of the events with lasting consequences, each linking to the page where we treat it properly. For live prices use the naira price tool; for breaking news, go to a news organisation.
The digest
2025 — the year crypto got a statute and a tax
| Date | Event | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 26 June 2025 | Nigeria's tax reform acts signed, effective January 2026 | Digital assets expressly within the chargeable-asset net. Gains on disposal are taxable, so 2026 is the year record-keeping stops being optional — crypto tax in Nigeria |
| April 2025 | CBEX collapse | An "AI trading" scheme promising to double deposits in about 30 days failed, with reported estimates of Nigerian losses running into the hundreds of billions of naira and some figures cited above ₦1 trillion. The SEC had warned; the EFCC pursued suspects — Nigeria's scam history |
| 29 March 2025 | Investments and Securities Act 2025 signed | Repealed the 2007 Act and expressly recognised digital and virtual assets as securities, placing VASPs under the SEC by statute rather than by rule — the full timeline |
| 20 February 2025 | Pi Network open mainnet | External connectivity enabled and PI listed on exchanges, establishing a real price well below years of community expectation. Nigeria is one of the largest Pi holder bases — Pi Network in Nigeria |
2024 — enforcement, and the framework
| Date | Event | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | SEC opens the Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme for VASPs; digital-asset rules amended | Gave platforms a defined route to operate lawfully, and raised capital requirements enough to exclude undercapitalised operators — SEC rules |
| 2024 | Action against Binance | Two executives detained; licensing, conduct and tax proceedings followed. Naira pairs became harder to find on some global P2P venues, pushing volume to other platforms — availability |
| 2024 | Band A electricity tariff reform | Not a crypto event, and it ended home mining economics in Nigeria. Our arithmetic shows a modern rig losing roughly ₦150,000 a month on electricity alone — mining economics |
| 2024 | cNGN operating under the SEC framework | A regulated naira-pegged stablecoin on public blockchains — genuinely new, and it does not protect against naira depreciation — stablecoins in Nigeria |
| Early 2024 | Binance delists Monero | Part of a broader delisting of privacy coins, which made them materially harder to convert to naira — privacy coins |
2023 — the reversal, and two platform failures
| Date | Event | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 22 December 2023 | CBN lifts the 2021 banking restriction | Guidelines allowing banks to open designated accounts for licensed VASPs. The single most misreported fact in Nigerian crypto — timeline |
| May 2023 | Patricia breach | A reported loss around $2 million, withdrawals frozen, and user balances converted into an internal token. The strongest argument for self-custody Nigerian crypto has produced — the postmortem |
| April 2023 | Paxful suspends its marketplace | Later restored, but Nigerian volume moved permanently to exchange P2P — P2P marketplaces |
Earlier — the events that still shape the market
| Date | Event | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| May 2022 | Terra and Luna collapse | Roughly $40 billion gone in days when an algorithmic stablecoin paying 20% failed. The most instructive event available for any Nigerian offered a "stable" high yield — the full account |
| March 2022 | Ronin bridge hack, ≈$625m | Ended the play-to-earn boom that had been real income for some Nigerians — gaming coins |
| May 2022 | SEC publishes the digital-asset rules | Nigeria's first detailed rulebook for digital-asset platforms |
| 25 October 2021 | eNaira launched | Africa's first retail CBDC. Adoption stalled because it does not solve the problem Nigerians buy USDT to solve — eNaira vs crypto |
| 2021 | MBA Forex and Racksterli collapse | Reported at over ₦200 billion and around ₦2 billion respectively. The pattern CBEX repeated four years later — the chronology |
| 5 February 2021 | CBN banking restriction | Banks directed to close crypto-related accounts. Reported worldwide as a ban on crypto, which it was not — and Nigerian P2P volume grew through the period |
| September 2020 | SEC statement on digital assets | Established that crypto-assets are securities unless shown otherwise, putting the sector with the SEC rather than the CBN |
| December 2016 | MMM Nigeria freezes accounts | Millions of Nigerians affected. The origin of the national memory that every subsequent scheme has had to work around, and repeatedly overcome |
What to watch
- How the 2026 tax year is actually administered. The Act is clear that digital-asset gains are chargeable; the practical questions — reporting mechanics, thresholds, how P2P records are treated — will be settled by administration and guidance. Keep records now — crypto tax.
- Which platforms complete full SEC registration. The incubation route is a step, not a destination. Registration status is worth rechecking before you commit funds — SEC rules.
- Whether cNGN finds real usage. A regulated naira token is genuinely new. Whether Nigerian users want naira on-chain, when what they mostly want is dollars, is the open question — stablecoins.
- Naira pair availability on global venues. It has changed before and will again. Test your exit route periodically rather than assuming — selling for naira.
- The next scheme. There will be one, and it will use the current vocabulary. The mechanics never change — the five-minute check.
Sources: cbn.gov.ng, sec.gov.ng, efcc.gov.ng and Nigerian financial press reporting. Figures for scheme losses are as publicly reported and are frequently revised. Where a date or figure matters to a decision, check the primary document.
Frequently asked questions
What is the latest crypto regulation news in Nigeria?
The two most consequential recent developments are the Investments and Securities Act 2025, signed on 29 March 2025, which recognised digital assets as securities by statute, and the tax reform acts signed in June 2025 and effective January 2026, which brought digital-asset disposal gains expressly into the tax net.
Is crypto still banned in Nigeria?
No, and it never was in the way it was reported. The CBN's February 2021 directive told banks to close crypto-related accounts; it was lifted in December 2023, and the Investments and Securities Act 2025 put digital assets on a statutory footing under the SEC.
What happened with CBEX in Nigeria?
CBEX, operated under ST Technologies, promised to roughly double deposits in about 30 days through an "AI trading" system and collapsed in April 2025. Reported estimates of Nigerian losses ran into the hundreds of billions of naira, with some figures cited above ₦1 trillion. The SEC had warned beforehand and the EFCC pursued suspects.
Do I have to pay crypto tax in Nigeria in 2026?
Gains on disposal of digital assets are within the chargeable-asset net following the 2025 tax reform acts, effective January 2026. Selling for naira, swapping one coin for another and spending crypto are all disposals — keep monthly records now rather than reconstructing them later.
Why is this a digest rather than a news feed?
Because this site serves static pages and a stale ticker is worse than an accurate dated record. We log the events with lasting consequences for Nigerian crypto users, with enough context to still be useful a year later, and link to the page where each is treated in full.
What should Nigerian crypto users watch next?
How the 2026 tax year is actually administered, which platforms complete full SEC registration rather than stopping at incubation, whether cNGN finds real usage, and naira pair availability on global venues — which has changed before and will again, so test your exit route periodically.
Related guides
Last reviewed: 2026-09-09. We update this page whenever Nigerian rules, fees or platform availability change. Nothing here is financial, tax or legal advice — see our editorial policy.
Open a CEX.IO account in 5 minutes
Licensed exchange supporting NGN, BVN/NIN KYC and instant naira-to-USDT conversion.