Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed sweeping new rules for digital asset businesses, including a ₦30 million registration fee for major operators and minimum capital of ₦2 billion for crypto exchanges and custodians.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed tougher financial and operating requirements for cryptocurrency and digital asset businesses serving the Nigerian market.

Under the proposed Rules on Digital and Virtual Asset Operations, Custody and Markets, Digital Asset Exchanges and Digital Asset Custodians would each be required to maintain minimum capital of ₦2 billion.

Digital Asset Platform Operators, Digital Asset Offering Platforms and Real-World Asset Tokenisation Platforms would face minimum capital requirements of ₦500 million, while Virtual Asset Service Providers would require ₦200 million.

The exposure draft, published by the SEC on August 20, 2026, is not yet a final rule. The commission has invited comments from stakeholders within two weeks of its publication.

₦30m registration fee proposed for major operators

The SEC's proposed fee schedule requires Digital Asset Exchanges, Digital Asset Custodians, Digital Asset Platform Operators, Digital Asset Offering Platforms and Real-World Asset Tokenisation Platforms to each pay a ₦30 million registration fee.

Virtual Asset Service Providers would pay a lower registration fee of ₦15 million.

Each category would also face a ₦100,000 processing fee and ₦300,000 application fee.

Operators would additionally be required to maintain a current fidelity insurance bond covering at least 25 per cent of their minimum paid-up capital.

For businesses operating through the Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme, the proposal sets an initial assessment fee of ₦200,000 and an ARIP application fee of ₦2 million.

The SEC is also proposing ongoing supervisory charges based on adjusted turnover.

A Digital Asset Exchange operating under ARIP would pay 0.015 per cent of adjusted turnover, while other regulated entities under the programme would pay 0.0075 per cent.

Under full registration, the proposed supervisory fee rises to 0.025 per cent for Digital Asset Exchanges and 0.015 per cent for other regulated entities.

SEC proposes limits for retail investors

The proposed framework also contains new safeguards for Nigerians participating in digital asset offerings.

Under the draft rules, a retail investor would generally be limited to ₦1 million per issuer and a total of ₦10 million across digital asset offerings during any 12-month period.

The provision applies specifically to investments in digital asset offerings and should not be interpreted as a general ₦1 million limit on ordinary cryptocurrency trading.

The proposal further requires Digital Asset Offering Platforms to provide risk warnings, obtain investor consent and assess the suitability of certain investments based on factors including the investor's knowledge, experience, financial circumstances and ability to absorb losses.

Institutional investors, qualified investors and high-net-worth investors may be exempted from the retail limits.

Retail investors would also have a proposed five-business-day cooling-off period during which they could withdraw from a subscription and receive a refund, subject to the framework.

Crypto firms targeting Nigerians could fall under rules

The proposed regime has a broad scope.

It would apply not only to businesses physically operating in Nigeria but also to companies providing services to Nigerian residents or targeting Nigerian investors through digital channels.

Entities seeking SEC registration would generally be required to be incorporated in Nigeria, maintain a registered Nigerian office and have their chief executive, managing director or equivalent principal officer resident in the country, unless the commission grants an exception.

The rules cover activities including the issuance and offering of digital assets, tokenisation, trading, custody, transfers, settlement, investment services and advisory services connected to digital and virtual assets.

Foreign-issued stablecoins would also face additional scrutiny before they could be listed, traded, held in custody or otherwise used by SEC-regulated platforms in Nigeria.

Foreign stablecoin issuers targeting the Nigerian market could be required to maintain a local representative and provide evidence of regulatory supervision, reserve arrangements, redemption rights and other safeguards.

Nigeria deepens digital asset regulation

The proposals mark another step in Nigeria's transition from uncertainty around cryptocurrency toward a more structured regulatory system.

The SEC introduced comprehensive digital asset rules in 2022 and subsequently established the Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme to bring virtual asset businesses into a supervised environment.

On August 13, the commission announced that three additional Virtual Asset Service Providers had been admitted into ARIP, giving them approval-in-principle to operate within the programme's defined limits while working toward full regulatory compliance.

The latest exposure draft goes considerably further by establishing detailed requirements covering capital, fees, custody, investor protection, stablecoins, market conduct, cybersecurity and regulatory supervision.

If ultimately adopted, the high capital thresholds could reshape which companies are able to operate regulated crypto businesses in Nigeria, particularly exchanges and custodians facing the proposed ₦2 billion requirement.