Nigeria boasts one of the world's highest cryptocurrency adoption rates, yet its government maintains a complex stance on digital assets.

Despite the ongoing lawsuit against Binance and the detention of its executive, Tigran Gambaryan, the Nigerian government remains open to crypto businesses operating within the country.

Nigeria’s Information Minister, Mohammed Idris, told Semafor that several crypto firms continue to operate legally without facing litigation or prosecution.

“This is part of our effort to strengthen regulations, not to stifle anyone. We are ensuring that businesses operate within a properly regulated framework,” Idris stated.

In February, Nigeria filed an $81.5 billion lawsuit against Binance, accusing the exchange of destabilizing the naira and alleging it owed $2 billion in unpaid taxes, as the government works to establish a clearer regulatory approach to cryptocurrency. In December 2024, the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission revised its crypto regulations, imposing stricter rules on marketing and advertising within the industry.

The updated regulations mandate that digital asset providers must obtain approval before allowing third-party firms to advertise their services in Nigeria.

Additionally, in February 2025, Nigerian regulators introduced plans to tax cryptocurrency transactions as part of efforts to boost government revenue.

According to ESSENTIAL NEWS' 2024 Global Adoption Index report, Nigeria ranks as the second-highest country in crypto adoption, with India taking the top spot.

E-NEWS reported that Nigeria received $59 billion in cryptocurrency transactions between July 2023 and June 2024.

However, despite these substantial figures, the effectiveness of taxing crypto transactions in generating the expected revenue for the Nigerian government remains uncertain. 

Coin Bureau founder and market analyst Nic Puckrin highlighted that Nigeria has a strong over-the-counter market for retail crypto trading, which operates outside centralized exchanges, making it difficult to monitor or tax.

He also noted that importers rely on cryptocurrency to mitigate the high volatility of the Nigerian naira and avoid foreign exchange risks.

Given the rapid depreciation of the local currency, it is unlikely that importers will abandon crypto transactions. Moreover, since these transactions can be conducted peer-to-peer, reporting them to the Nigerian government remains a significant challenge.