Nigerian government to track crypto transactions under new tax law

The Nigerian government plans to make crypto transactions traceable through the Nigeria Tax Administration Act (NTAA) 2025. The legislation has a mechanism that allows the government to trace crypto funds via the Tax Identification Number (TIN) and the National Identification Number (NIN).

The initiative to make crypto transactions transparent marks a significant step forward by the West African nation, which previously had limited abilities to trace digital asset transactions. The government plans to track crypto funds and match them against income declarations and tax records by attaching the transactions to TINs. 

Nigeria introduces legislation to curb crypto tax evasion and avoidance

The initiative also falls under the country’s new Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF). The new framework, which took effect on January 1, 2026, is designed to curb tax evasion and avoidance in the crypto space.

The Nigerian government stated that the new framework will enable tax authorities to track information on both local and foreign crypto transactions.

Nigeria’s plan to track crypto transactions mirrors efforts from other countries, including the UK, which requires crypto asset providers to collect information from their customers. Digital asset providers in Britain collect customers’ names, date of birth, and National Insurance numbers or Unique Taxpayer References for residents, and TINs for non-residents.

The Nigerian government issues the TIN (Tax ID) through the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) and the Joint Revenue Board (JRB). The government uses the Tax ID to track individuals and businesses for tax administration, enforcement, and compliance.

The West African country’s initiative comes as a report revealed that it received approximately $92.1 billion in digital assets between June 2024 and June 2025. The amount represents the total transaction value, which Nigeria hopes to benefit from once taxable. 

The NTAA 2025 requires Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) to file monthly returns to the relevant tax authority. The law also requires the returns to contain the name, address, telephone number, email address, Tax ID, and the national identification number of individual customers. 

The returns are expected to include the nature of the crypto service provided, transaction dates, the type and value of the digital assets transacted, and the sales value of the cryptocurrency. Any other counterparty involved in the transaction is also required to provide the name, address, telephone number, and email address. The law also revealed that Nigerian tax authorities can request additional information from VASPs, with or without notice.

Nigeria requires VASPs to flag and report large or suspicious crypto transactions

The Nigerian government added that it expects VASPs to flag and report large or suspicious transactions to both the tax authorities and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU). The initiative boosts the country’s crypto oversight into its anti-money laundering framework.

Crypto exchanges in the country are also required to retain Know Your Customer (KYC) records, customer transaction records, and identification data for a minimum of seven years after the last transaction. Nigeria’s income tax law requires taxable individuals in crypto activities to maintain records and books and report digital asset transactions to the relevant tax authorities.

Nigeria had previously attempted to tax crypto profits under the Finance Act of 2022. The legislation introduced a 10% tax on profits from virtual assets, but the initiative failed since transactions were hard to link to individuals.

The new initiative to track crypto transactions aligns with Nigeria’s Investment and Securities Act (ISA) 2025, which recognizes cryptocurrencies as securities. The regulatory change enabled the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to monitor VASPs, Digital Asset Operators (DAOs), and Digital Asset Exchanges (DAXs).

Under the law, the SEC charges non-compliant VASPs approximately $7,026.57 in the first month of default and $702.66 for each subsequent month. VASPs also face the risk of licence suspension or revocation.

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