The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced new amendments to existing regulations that will bring cryptocurrency trading and digital transactions under the formal tax net.
According to a Bloomberg report on Tuesday, the SEC confirmed in an emailed statement that the new measures will ensure that all eligible transactions conducted on regulated exchanges are subject to taxation.
However, the regulator did not disclose projected revenue figures from the initiative.
As part of the broader regulatory overhaul, the SEC is also expanding its cryptocurrency licensing framework.
The commission plans to issue permits that will allow residents to trade on centralized exchanges to improve market oversight and provide greater transparency in digital asset transactions.
“We anticipate gradual traction toward centralized exchanges because they will offer greater protections and comfort for investors,” the regulator stated.
The regulatory shift aligns with global trends in digital asset oversight and follows similar measures introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
In December 2023, the CBN issued operational guidelines for virtual asset service providers (VASPs), reversing a previous directive from February 2021 that restricted financial institutions from facilitating cryptocurrency transactions.
Nigeria’s push to tax digital assets has been in motion since December 2022, when former Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed confirmed that the 2022 Finance Bill contained provisions to impose taxes on cryptocurrency and other digital assets. The SEC’s latest regulatory update builds on that foundation, with more structured oversight now in place.
Industry interest in compliance has grown in recent months, with 50 cryptocurrency exchanges applying for operational licenses in Nigeria as of September 12, 2024, according to SEC Director-General Emomotimi Agama. The move toward licensed and centralized platforms is expected to improve transparency in the sector while providing the government with a new revenue stream.
As Nigeria formalizes its approach to digital asset taxation, the new SEC framework is expected to reshape the country’s crypto landscape, balancing investor protection with increased regulatory oversight.
