Is crypto legal in Nigeria? (2026 guide)

Crypto is not banned in Nigeria. Since the Investments and Securities Act 2025, “virtual and digital assets” fall inside the legal definition of securities, and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) registers and regulates the businesses that deal in them.

The registration rules we can quote from the Act are written for the operator: the exchange, the service provider, the person carrying on the business. The rest of this guide sets out what the Act says, which firms the SEC has admitted so far, what changed with Binance, and what the naira P2P markets looked like on 11 Oct 2026.

What the 2025 Act says about crypto

The Act does four things that matter to someone buying or trading crypto in Nigeria.

Provision	What it says
Definition of “securities”	Includes “virtual and digital assets” and investment contracts
Section 3	The SEC is the apex regulatory authority for the Nigerian capital market. Its functions include registering and regulating virtual and digital asset exchanges, virtual asset service providers and digital asset operators
Section 26(1)	A person shall not establish or operate a securities exchange unless registered with the Commission. The definition of a securities exchange covers a facility that brings together buyers and sellers of virtual assets
Section 61(1)	A person shall not operate in the Nigerian capital market or carry on investments and securities business unless registered under the Act

Read together, these make crypto a regulated activity. A platform that matches buyers and sellers of virtual assets falls within the Act’s definition of a securities exchange, and running one requires registration with the SEC.

The Act regulates the operator

Sections 26(1) and 61(1) are about establishing or operating an exchange and about carrying on investments and securities business. Those are the duties of a business.

Whether an individual commits an offence by using an exchange that is not registered in Nigeria is a different question. The sources we read do not answer it, so this guide does not state it either way.

Ponzi and pyramid schemes carry a 20,000,000 naira minimum fine

The Act is specific about prohibited schemes. Under section 196(3), the promoter and operator of a prohibited scheme such as a Ponzi or pyramid scheme is liable on conviction to:

• a fine of not less than 20,000,000 naira,
• imprisonment for 10 years, or
• both.

That penalty is aimed at the promoter and operator of the scheme. For a reader, the practical point is that a “crypto investment” pitch can be a prohibited scheme under the same Act that regulates exchanges.

Seven firms were admitted to the SEC’s incubation programme

On 2 Jul 2026 the SEC announced seven firms admitted to its Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme (ARIP):

1. Bitbarter Technologies Limited
2. Luno Fintech Nigeria Limited
3. GetEquity Limited
4. Koinkoin Global Network Limited
5. Wrapped CBDC Ltd
6. Trovotech Ltd
7. Blockvault Custodian Ltd

The SEC describes ARIP as a regulatory environment designed to fast-track the onboarding of digital asset and other investment service providers.

What ARIP admission does and does not mean

What it means: the firm has been given an approval-in-principle by the SEC and is inside a programme the regulator runs.

What it does not mean: a full licence. The SEC states that the approval-in-principle “is not a final licence and remains conditional on the entity’s continued compliance”. A firm’s status can therefore change.

In the same notice, the SEC advises the public to verify the regulatory status of anyone promoting an investment product or service through the Commission’s official channels before dealing with them.

Binance no longer offers naira

Binance announced on 5 Mar 2024 that it was discontinuing all Nigerian naira services. The dates it gave:

Date	What stopped
28 Feb 2024	NGN P2P pairs delisted
5 Mar 2024	NGN deposits stopped
8 Mar 2024	NGN withdrawals ended

That is still the position. On 11 Oct 2026 we opened Binance P2P’s USDT market with NGN selected, and it returned another currency’s market instead. Naira was not offered.

What the naira P2P markets showed on 11 Oct 2026

Naira P2P trading continues on other platforms. On 11 Oct 2026 the naira markets on OKX, Bybit and MEXC were all listing adverts to buy and sell USDT for naira.

Platform	Naira per USDT on 11 Oct 2026	Payment methods shown
OKX P2P	about 1,363	-
Bybit P2P	about 1,359 to 1,364	Bank transfer, OPay and Kuda among them
MEXC P2P	1,356 to 1,363 on ordinary adverts	Bank transfer, OPay, PalmPay, Kuda

These are advert prices on one day, set by individual sellers and buyers, and they are not a quote you will necessarily get. The gap between buy and sell adverts is a cost to you in the same way as a spread.

An active market tells you that trading is happening. It does not tell you the platform’s regulatory status in Nigeria. OKX, Bybit and MEXC are not among the seven firms named in the SEC’s 2 Jul 2026 ARIP notice.

Where OKX stands

OKX says it is regulated by VARA in Dubai and registered or licensed in multiple markets. That is the venue’s own description of its status elsewhere, and it is separate from registration under Nigeria’s Act.

On the practical side, OKX has no minimum deposit to open an account, and its funding methods are P2P, card, USDT and crypto transfer.

The downsides are real:

• Crypto is highly volatile and your capital is at real risk.
• Some OKX products are restricted by jurisdiction.
• Derivatives are advanced products and not for day one.

What we could not confirm

• Individual liability. Whether a person commits an offence by using an exchange that is not registered in Nigeria. The sources do not say.
• SEC registration of OKX, Bybit and MEXC. We did not verify whether any of them is registered with the Nigerian SEC. We can only say they are not in the 2 Jul 2026 ARIP notice.
• Central Bank and tax rules. We could not open the Central Bank of Nigeria’s document on bank accounts for crypto firms on the day, and tax on crypto gains was not verified for this guide.

This guide is for education only and is not financial advice; trading crypto carries a risk of loss.