In 2026, the Bitcoin regulatory landscape across Africa is progressing beyond bans and hand-waving from legislators. Despite Nigeria leading the charge in that old regulatory regime, with its infamous 2021 partial Bitcoin ban, and subsequent reversal in 2023, Nigeria now finds itself at the forefront of pioneering a clear(er) regulatory framework for digital assets. Chief among these developments are its recognition of Bitcoin as a security in 2025, and the Jan 2026 effective tax law—of which the latter is the focus of this piece.
In 2025, the Nigerian government took on the ambitious challenge of revamping its tax laws through a package of four tax reform bills—the Nigerian Tax Administration Act (NTAA) 2025, the Nigeria Tax Act (NTA) 2025, the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Act (NRSA), and the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Act (JRBEA)—and collectively signed into law by the Nigerian president on June 26, 2025, and took full effect on Jan 1, 2026.
The tax laws streamline several maladies in Nigeria’s tax code and brings the government closer to its planned raising of the tax-to-GDP ratio from under 10% to 18% by 2027.
According to the recent data on the electronic money transfer levy, introduced under the Nigeria Tax Act (NTA) 2025, the government collected over $276 million from digital payments in the first 11 months of 2025.
Citizens are required to self-report their income, which is collected progressively under a tiered band system; this progressive system is intended to ensure low-income earners pay as little as possible (including eligibility for deductions on several expenses like pension) and high earners paying more in their excess earnings, with a maximum marginal rate of 25% on the highest band.
Bitcoin Under The New Tax Law And Regulations
Bitcoin is taxed similarly to other securities, meaning it is subject to capital gains tax. Similar to the US, individuals are eligible for tax deductions for losses on Bitcoin. The new laws impose taxes of up to 25% on profits from transacting with digital assets as “chargeable gains”, thereby replacing the previous 10% capital gains imposed from the Finance Act of 2022.
Under the new tax regime, Virtual asset providers (VASPs) are now subject to a 30% corporate tax on profits from their digital asset operations, primarily from transaction fees. Additionally, VASPs need to obtain a Tax Identification Number (TIN), register with the Nigerian Revenue Service (NRS), and file monthly returns disclosing transaction details, types, amounts, and customer information such as names, addresses, TINs, and NINs, and log any suspicious activities.
VASPs that do not comply with the new requirements face penalties of up to ?10 million (~$7,200) in the first month of default and ?1 million (~$720) for each subsequent month, with the potential for suspension or revocation of their licenses by the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The recent decision by the popular digital assets exchange, Quidax, to shut down its P2P service after only five months of operation due to the tightened regulatory controls introduced, despite being part of the Nigerian SEC’s regulatory sandbox under its Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme (ARIP), is a possible indication of where things could go for other market players.
The government recognizes that self-declaration alone is insufficient to increase transparency in the personal income reported by citizens. Hence, to further tighten any inaccuracies in reported income, the government plans to use the TINs and NINs to track, in real time, digital asset transactions and flows to individuals to verify income declarations, per TechCabal’s analysis of the NTAA 2025.
Together, using these sources of information, Nigeria’s regulators will be able to tie digital asset transactions to individuals and monitor these flows without needing any specialized blockchain forensics tools. Additionally, banking and FinTech platforms (including those handling digital assets) are required to collect and verify users’ employment information and salary details as part of broader KYC/AML, income verification, and compliance processes under the new regime.
Given the TIN and NIN collectively link sensitive information, biometric data, and other personal information to individuals, this move could open the possibility of government surveillance.
We can be confident, though too early, that the collective impact of the new tax and regulatory regime for both companies and individuals will have far-reaching effects throughout the country across multiple fronts.
Nevertheless, there are no signs of Nigeria’s illustrious track record of leading Bitcoin and stablecoin adoption on the continent slowing down, especially in transaction volume, as per the Chainalysis 2025 report. However, as the country seeks to align with global digital assets regulations and the administration’s multi-pronged economic strategy, it will continue to overhaul its regulatory frameworks to stay compliant, attract foreign investment, increase economic activity, and boost GDP and other metrics.
It is clear that African countries are now taking a more active role in regulating the Bitcoin space, and in 2026, we can expect to see more countries such as Morocco who are signaling adopting digital assets regulations to follow suit.
As Nigeria continues to revamp its regulatory landscape, other African countries can benefit from studying its rollout of legal frameworks to regulate Bitcoin and stablecoins, and associated supplementary tax laws, where necessary.