Don't want to trade it yourself?
Our desk runs DEX portfolios on profit share.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed tougher regulatory requirements for Nigeria’s digital asset industry, including higher registration fees, minimum capital thresholds and turnover-based supervisory charges for cryptocurrency businesses.
Under the proposed Rules on Digital and Virtual Asset Operations, Custody and Markets, Digital Asset Exchanges (DAXs), Digital Asset Custodians (DACs), Digital Asset Platform Operators (DAPOs), Digital Asset Offering Platforms (DAOPs) and Real World Asset Tokenisation Platforms (RATOPs) would each pay a N30 million registration fee.
The proposed capital requirement is N2 billion each for DAXs and DACs, N500 million for DAPOs, DAOPs and RATOPs, and N200 million for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs).
Applicants would also pay N100,000 as a processing fee and N300,000 application fee. Firms seeking admission into the SEC’s Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme (ARIP) would pay a N200,000 initial assessment fee and N2 million application fee.
The Commission also proposes that regulated entities maintain a fidelity insurance bond covering at least 25 per cent of their minimum paid-up capital.
Financial and digital-asset experts said the measures could strengthen investor protection and confidence in Nigeria’s crypto market but warned that excessive compliance costs could force smaller operators out of the formal sector.
Fintech analyst Olumide Adeyemi said stronger capital requirements could help distinguish well-funded operators from poorly capitalised platforms.
“Capital requirements are important because digital asset businesses hold significant risks around custody, liquidity, cyberattacks and operational failures. Stronger capital buffers can give customers greater protection,” he said.
However, he cautioned that the SEC must balance prudential requirements with innovation.
“If the threshold becomes too high for emerging businesses, Nigeria could unintentionally concentrate the market in the hands of a few large operators and push smaller innovators into less-regulated channels,” Adeyemi said.
Blockchain policy researcher Ifeanyi Okoro said the framework could provide greater certainty for investors and international companies seeking to enter Nigeria.
“The key issue is not simply the amount of capital required. It is whether the rules create a predictable environment where legitimate businesses understand what is expected of them and can plan accordingly,” he said.
The proposed rules state that no entity may conduct digital or virtual asset business in Nigeria, or target Nigerian residents, without SEC registration, approval or authorisation.
Operators would generally be required to be incorporated in Nigeria, maintain a registered office in the country and have their chief executive or equivalent principal officer resident in Nigeria, unless otherwise approved by the Commission.
Applications opened on August 12 and are scheduled to close on August 31, 2026.
Source: blueprint.ng