Bitcoin in Nigeria: Legal Status, Tax Rules and the Right to Self-Custody

Holding Bitcoin is legal in Nigeria, and no primary source I found prohibits it. Bitcoin is not legal tender, but it is taxed as a chargeable asset under the Nigeria Tax Act, 2025, and businesses that exchange or hold it for others fall under the Securities and Exchange Commission. Banks may serve those businesses under Central Bank of Nigeria guidelines of December 22, 2023, but may not trade Bitcoin themselves.

Yes. No Act of the National Assembly, regulation or circular I read makes it an offense for a person to buy, hold or sell Bitcoin.

The law instead defines the asset, taxes it, and requires the businesses that handle it for others to register.

No. Legal tender means money a creditor must accept in payment of a debt. Under section 20(1) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007, the currency notes issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) "shall be legal tender in Nigeria at their face value for the payment of any amount." Bitcoin is not issued by the CBN.

The anti-money laundering statute gives the clearest definition. Section 30 of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 defines a virtual asset as "a digital representation of value that can be digitally traded, or transferred, and can be used for payment or investment purposes". It excludes digital representations of fiat currencies, securities and other financial assets. Bitcoin fits the definition.

For tax purposes, yes, expressly. Section 34(1) of the Nigeria Tax Act, 2025 provides that all forms of property are chargeable assets, and paragraph (a) names "digital or virtual assets and incorporeal property generally". Incorporeal property means property you cannot touch, such as a debt or a right.

Section 61(1) of the Investments and Securities Act, 2025 bars any person from operating in the capital market or carrying on "investments and securities business" unless registered. Holding your own sats is not a business carried on for others.

It brings them inside the securities regulator's perimeter. The Act is Act No. 2 of 2025, dated March 25, 2025, and published in Official Gazette No. 19 of May 2, 2025. Its long title states that it repeals the Investments and Securities Act, No. 29, 2007.

Section 3(3)(b) requires the Securities and Exchange Commission, Nigeria (SEC) to register and regulate "virtual and digital asset exchanges and other market venues", and section 3(3)(i) adds "virtual asset service providers, digital asset operators".

The detailed rules the SEC currently publishes are its New Rules on Issuance, Offering Platforms and Custody of Digital Assets. They require registration of digital asset offering platforms, digital asset custodians, virtual asset service providers and digital asset exchanges, in separate parts. The copy published by the SEC carries no date.

The SEC's June 2024 Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Program framework governs onboarding. Paragraph 41 sets "a penalty of not less than N20,000,000" for platforms that run trading, offering or custody without SEC registration.

From June 30, 2027, ₦2.00 billion. SEC Circular Number 26-1 of January 16, 2026 raises the minimum capital for a Digital Assets Exchange and a Digital Assets Custodian to ₦2.00 billion each, from ₦500.00 million.

Operators must comply "on or before 30 June 2027".

Banks may hold accounts for SEC-licensed Bitcoin businesses, but they may not trade Bitcoin for themselves. The governing instrument is the CBN's Guidelines on Operations of Bank Accounts for Virtual Assets Service Providers.

The cover circular, reference FPR/DIR/PUB/CIR/002/003 as read from the scanned copy, is dated December 22, 2023 and addressed to "All Banks and Other Financial Institutions".

The cover states that the guidelines supersede circular BSD/DIR/PUB/LAB/014/001 of February 5, 2021 on the subject. The cover also states that banks and other financial institutions remain prohibited from holding, trading or transacting in virtual currencies on their own account.

Section 3.0 limits their reach: they "apply to banks and other financial institutions under the regulatory purview of the CBN." They bind banks, not individual holders. Section 6.0 allows banks to open designated accounts, provide designated settlement accounts and "act as channels for FX flows and trade".

The account rules are strict:

The only foreign exchange rules I could confirm are those inside the CBN's December 2023 guidelines. Section 7.9(ix) states that the designated settlement account "shall not facilitate FX positions" of platform users. Section 7.9(xiv) bars banks from settling users' foreign exchange positions "to any foreign account".

These rules govern banks. They do not address an individual receiving Bitcoin from abroad into their own wallet.

Separately, section 3(1) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 requires a transfer of funds or securities to or from a foreign country exceeding US$10,000 to be reported to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, the CBN and the SEC within one day. Section 30 includes virtual assets in the definition of funds.

Bitcoin businesses are financial institutions under the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, which received assent on May 12, 2022 and repealed the 2011 Act.

Section 30 lists "virtual asset service providers" within the definition of financial institution. Section 11(1) requires financial institutions to report to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) transactions above ₦5,000,000 for an individual and ₦10,000,000 for a body corporate, within seven days.

Section 17 establishes the Special Control Unit against Money Laundering (SCUML) within the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to supervise designated non-financial businesses and professions, such as dealers and real estate agents. The 2024 regulations for those businesses, S.I. No. 39 of 2024, do not mention virtual assets. Bitcoin providers sit with financial institutions, not with SCUML.

Gains on Bitcoin are taxable income, at the ordinary rates for individuals and at 30% for companies other than small companies. The governing law is the Nigeria Tax Act, 2025, Act No. 7 of 2025, published in Official Gazette No. 117 of June 26, 2025 and dated to apply from January 1, 2026. Its long title repeals the Capital Gains Tax Act.

The federal tax authority is now the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), established by section 3(1) of the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, 2025, whose section 40(1) repeals the Federal Inland Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, 2007.

Section 28(2)(a)(v) of the Nigeria Tax Act includes "chargeable gains from the disposal of chargeable assets" in an individual's taxable income. Section 58(1) applies the Fourth Schedule rates, which are progressive. I could not read the Fourth Schedule itself, so I do not state the bands.

Losses are ring-fenced. Section 28(3)(b)(iv) allows a loss from "sales, disposal or any other transaction in digital or virtual assets" only against gains or profits from such assets.

The NRS issued its Guidelines on the Taxation of Virtual Assets as Information Circular No. 2026/21, dated July 31, 2026. Guidelines explain how the authority applies the Acts; they do not override them. Paragraph 5.0 names Bitcoin in its first category, "cryptocurrencies and exchange tokens".

The main rules:

Under section 25 of the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025, a provider that exchanges, holds or manages virtual assets must report each customer's name, address, Tax ID and, for individuals, national identification number, with the type and value of the assets. Section 8(2) makes a Tax ID a precondition for opening an account with a financial service provider. A non-compliant provider faces ₦10,000,000 for the first month and ₦1,000,000 for each further month, according to paragraph 13.0 of the NRS guidelines.

For trades with no intermediary, such as wallet-to-wallet deals, paragraph 8.2 of the guidelines places the duty on the taxpayer through an annual self-assessment return.

On gifts, the tax rule is set; on inheritance, I found no primary source. Section 36(2) of the Nigeria Tax Act treats the recipient of a gift as acquiring the asset at its last arm's length price or market value. It expressly excludes assets passing "by devolution on death". The NRS guidelines confirm no income tax on the donor and defer the gain until the recipient disposes (paragraph 7.1, row 15).

Mining income is taxable, and I found no other rule. Paragraph 6.1.1(2) of the NRS guidelines lists mining rewards as taxable income, and paragraph 8.1 sets 10% withholding tax on income receipts such as mining.

Two instruments are pending, and neither is in force.

The first is the SEC's Rules on Digital and Virtual Assets Operations, Custody and Markets. The SEC published them as proposed rules on August 20, 2026 and invited comments within two weeks of exposure. Rule 4(6)(f) would exclude from custody rules "a self-hosted wallet used solely for personal, non-commercial purposes". Rule 2(1)(b) would require operators to be incorporated and have a registered office in Nigeria, with a chief executive resident there.

The second is Senate Bill SB 956 of 2026, sponsored by Senator Jibrin Barau, to establish a legal, regulatory and supervisory framework for virtual and digital assets and their service providers. The Senate Order Paper of June 9, 2026 lists it for second reading.

Yes. No Act, regulation or circular I read makes it an offense for an individual to buy, hold or sell Bitcoin. Bitcoin is not legal tender under section 20(1) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007, but section 34(1)(a) of the Nigeria Tax Act, 2025 treats it as a chargeable asset.

The CBN's February 5, 2021 circular, BSD/DIR/PUB/LAB/014/001, restricted banks, not individuals. Its guidelines of December 22, 2023 state that they supersede that circular and allow banks to open designated accounts for SEC-licensed providers. Banks remain prohibited from holding or trading virtual currencies on their own account.

No. Section 61(1) of the Investments and Securities Act, 2025 requires registration to carry on investments and securities business, which holding your own Bitcoin is not. The SEC's proposed rules of August 20, 2026 would also exclude self-hosted wallets used for personal, non-commercial purposes from custody rules. Those rules are not yet in force.

From January 1, 2026, gains on disposal are part of an individual's taxable income under section 28(2)(a)(v) of the Nigeria Tax Act, 2025, taxed at progressive rates. Companies other than small companies pay 30% under section 56. Losses on virtual assets may only offset gains or profits from virtual assets.

Under paragraph 8.1 of the NRS Guidelines on the Taxation of Virtual Assets of July 31, 2026, a platform withholds 1% of gross disposal proceeds and collects 1.5% stamp duty on token-to-fiat swaps. Paragraph 9.4(4) credits the withheld tax against your final liability. Platform fees carry VAT at 7.5%.

No. Paragraph 7.2.2 of the NRS guidelines states that a transfer between wallets owned and controlled by the same individual is not a disposal, provided beneficial ownership does not change. The rule does not cover companies, partnerships or trusts. Swapping Bitcoin for another token is a disposal under the guidelines.

Residence decides. Under section 46(n) of the Nigeria Tax Act, 2025, digital assets are situated in Nigeria where the owner is resident there or has a connected permanent establishment. Paragraph 6.1.3(1) of the NRS guidelines makes non-residents taxable on income, profits or gains from virtual asset activities in Nigeria.

This article is general information and not legal advice.

To see how Nigeria compares with other countries, open The Bitcoin Act's interactive Global Bitcoin Regulatory Map. It sets legal status, self-custody, tax and seizure risk side by side across jurisdictions: https://thebitcoinact.xyz/bitcoin-legal-map

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