nigeria

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently launched a regulatory pilot program for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP). The first batch of participating institutions includes several regional fintech and digital asset companies, among which KuCoin is the only selected global exchange.The pilot focuses on compliance with anti-money laundering (AML), counter-terrorism financing (CFT), and counter-proliferation financing (CPF), aiming to strengthen risk management and regulatory capabilities in the digital asset industry, and align with international standards such as those set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).According to the arrangements, participating institutions are required to conduct structured regulatory communications, submit regulatory data regularly, and advance compliance practices in key areas such as corporate governance, transaction monitoring, sanctions screening, and cross-border transaction "Travel Rule."KuCoin CEO BC Wong stated that constructive regulatory dialogue is an important foundation for the long-term sustainable development of the digital asset industry, and the company will continue to strengthen communication and cooperation with global regulatory agencies to promote transparency and enhance risk management capabilities.The market generally believes that this selection reflects KuCoin's ongoing progress in advancing compliance strategies globally, while also indicating that Nigeria is moving towards a more systematic and forward-looking phase in digital asset regulation.

According to TechCabal, the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has released new regulations. Under the new framework, digital asset exchanges and digital asset custodians that operate trading venues and safeguard users' digital assets must maintain a minimum capital requirement of 200 million naira (approximately 1.4 million USD), up from the previous 500 million naira.In other categories, the minimum capital requirement for Digital Asset Offering Platforms (DAOP) and RWA tokenization platforms is set at 1 billion naira, while digital asset intermediaries and related service providers are required to maintain between 300 million to 500 million naira. The new regulations mandate that the relevant institutions must meet these standards by June 30, 2027, or they may face suspension or revocation of their licenses.

Cointelegraph posted on the X platform that Nigeria now requires cryptocurrency transactions to be linked with Tax IDs and National IDs.

According to market news, the Nigerian government has linked cryptocurrency transactions to real identities through a new tax law using Tax Identification Numbers (TIN) and National Identification Numbers (NIN), making cryptocurrency transactions traceable and included in the tax reporting system without the need to crack the blockchain itself.Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) are required to collect and report customer TIN/NIN, name, address, and other information, while also submitting transaction data to tax authorities on a monthly basis as required, and reporting large or suspicious transactions to law enforcement agencies.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cryptonews, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Olayemi Cardoso announced after the World Bank and International Monetary Fund annual meetings in Washington that the central bank has collaborated with the Ministry of Finance and other financial regulatory bodies to establish a dedicated working group to assess the framework and impact of launching an official Nigerian stablecoin.According to IMF 2023 data, only 0.5% of Nigerians adopted the eNaira one year after its launch, with 98.5% of wallets remaining inactive. Although the number of eNaira wallets reached 13 million at the beginning of 2024, most of them are unused.

ChainCatcher message, the encrypted payment protocol AEON announced that its Web3 mobile crypto payment tool AEON Pay has been launched in Nigeria, allowing users to pay merchants' bank accounts with cryptocurrency.This feature is integrated with the interbank settlement system NIBSS under the Central Bank of Nigeria, promoting the application of crypto assets in local daily payments. It is reported that AEON Pay has already been launched in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam and the Philippines, and is set to expand to Latin American regions such as Brazil and Mexico.

ChainCatcher news, according to Decrypt, the U.S. Department of Justice announced on Wednesday that a Nigerian fraudster successfully scammed a donor out of $250,000 in cryptocurrency by impersonating Steve Witkoff, co-chair of the Trump-Vance inauguration committee.It is reported that the fraudster sent an email on December 24, 2024, using a clever domain spoofing technique—replacing the lowercase letter "i" in the official email "@t47inaugural.com" with a visually similar lowercase letter "l," resulting in "@t47lnaugural.com." The victim was deceived and transferred 250,300 Ethereum-based USDT stablecoins to a cryptocurrency wallet controlled by the fraudster on December 26.The FBI successfully recovered 40,300 USDT through blockchain transaction tracking, with the assistance of Tether, and these funds are currently undergoing civil forfeiture proceedings to compensate the victim. Experts warn that as the political sphere becomes more accepting of cryptocurrency, such scams targeting crypto donations may increase, and AI and deepfake technology will further amplify the scale and complexity of fraudulent activities.

ChainCatcher news, according to News.Bitcoin, the Nigerian terrorist organization Boko Haram is increasingly relying on cryptocurrency, mobile payments, and other digital tools to fund its activities, obtaining millions through ransom, looting, and forced "zakat" donations. Experts refer to these digital financing methods as a "blind spot" in the fight against terrorism. Nigeria's vast and largely unregulated cryptocurrency market, driven by economic demand, inadvertently facilitates this threat.Experts like Oge Samuel Okonkwo point out that Boko Haram utilizes the decentralized nature of cryptocurrency for low-cost operations, including arms procurement, and benefits from the massive daily digital transactions in Nigeria. The organization's cross-border activities have also been enhanced by the convenient digital transfer characteristics of cryptocurrency.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bitcoin.com, the troubled Nigerian crypto exchange Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX) has recently announced new withdrawal options in an effort to restore investor confidence.Sources revealed that the company made this announcement amid rumors of impending closure. According to the new regulations, investors holding funds not exceeding $1,000 on the platform must pay a fee of $100 to withdraw 50% of their initial funds, which is expected to be released on June 20, 2025. CBEX has been accused of misappropriating funds from over 600,000 Nigerian users, leading the Nigerian SEC to declare the platform illegal. Despite the introduction of new withdrawal options, some users remain skeptical about the company's true situation, believing that this activation fee could be a potential scam to extract more money from Nigerians.

According to ChainCatcher, as reported by Forbes, Nigerian President Tinubu signed the Investment And Securities Act 2025 last month, officially classifying Bitcoin and other digital assets as securities. This marks the first official recognition of Bitcoin's legal status by Nigerian regulators.The new law will grant the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulatory authority over Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), Digital Asset Operators (DAOPs), and Digital Asset Exchanges (DAEs). The law also imposes strict penalties against Ponzi schemes, with violators facing fines of at least 20 million Naira (approximately $12,430) and up to 10 years in prison.Although Nigeria has been one of the countries with the highest Bitcoin adoption rates and P2P trading volumes globally, the country previously lacked a clear regulatory framework for digital assets. Bitnob CEO Bernard Parah stated, "Having clearer regulations is a good thing. Now that this step is completed, it will be easier to further amend specific provisions as the industry matures."

ChainCatcher news, according to CryptoSlate, the Nigerian digital asset trading platform CBEX has been exposed as a Ponzi scheme, causing significant financial losses for many investors. Although local media initially reported losses as high as 1.3 trillion naira (approximately 800 million USD), analysis indicates that the address is actually a Binance hot wallet, and the real loss amount may be closer to 12 million USD.CBEX claims to be the "China Beijing Equity Exchange," but it has no connection to the officially named institution in China. The platform, under the guise of AI quantitative strategies, promises to double returns in 30 days, attracting a large number of investors and requiring them to recruit others for commissions, essentially operating as a typical Ponzi structure. The project was even promoted in Nigerian national media as a "poverty alleviation program," further misleading users.By April 2025, CBEX suddenly froze accounts, preventing users from withdrawing funds, which sparked public outrage. Some investors besieged its offices in Ibadan and Lagos, and many victims shared their loss experiences on social media.Independent analyst Specter pointed out that CBEX is linked to other similar scams, LWEX and PCEX, suspected of sharing website architecture and funding flow patterns. The related wallets are also connected to the Southeast Asian payment system Huione Pay, which has been listed by Elliptic as one of the main hubs for money laundering and telecom fraud, involving over 24 billion USD in suspicious transactions.

ChainCatcher news, according to News.bitcoin, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on April 9 that a Nigerian man has been charged in Massachusetts with orchestrating a complex romance scam that defrauded victims of over $2.5 million, funneling the funds into cryptocurrency accounts he secretly managed.According to prosecutors, the man created false online identities from 2016 to 2019, establishing fake romantic relationships with victims across the United States. He currently faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.

ChainCatcher news, the Nigerian court has postponed the hearing of the tax evasion case against Binance until April 30, to allow the tax authorities to respond to the legal motions filed by Binance. The Federal Inland Revenue Service of Nigeria accuses Binance of failing to pay corporate income tax and penalties for 2022 and 2023, totaling over $79 billion in claims. Binance questions the legality of the court's delivery of legal documents via email, stating that its headquarters is in the Cayman Islands and it has no physical presence in Nigeria.

ChainCatcher news, according to DL News, Binance has banned users with Nigerian IP addresses from participating in its airdrop activities. Nigerian cryptocurrency users have reported that they are unable to access Binance's Web3 task platform, which previously allowed users to earn free cryptocurrency by completing simple social tasks, due to the ongoing dispute between the government and Binance.Binance has over 380,000 active users in Nigeria. This is the latest restriction following last year's ban on Nigerian users from accessing the peer-to-peer trading platform and the removal of the digital version of the Nigerian Naira. These restrictions stem from a legal dispute between Binance and the Nigerian government, which accuses Binance of causing the depreciation of the Naira.

ChainCatcher news, according to Reuters, Nigerian authorities have filed a lawsuit against Binance, claiming $79.5 billion in economic losses and $2 billion in unpaid taxes. The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) of Nigeria accuses Binance of operating illegally in the country.The Federal Inland Revenue Service of Nigeria stated that Binance's operations in the country are illegal. Previously, in March 2024, the agency had sued Binance over four tax violation charges, including failure to pay corporate income tax and failure to submit tax returns.