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The Central Bank of Nigeria launched a pilot programme targeting virtual asset service providers (VASPs), essentially the companies powering Nigeria’s crypto economy.

Think of it less like a crackdown and more like a preparation for stricter oversight. The focus is squarely on anti-money laundering, terrorism financing, and all the other illicit things crypto tends to be used for. This sits within existing laws, so the rulebook hasn’t changed, but enforcement is getting stricter.

Who’s testing the pilot phase?
Some of the biggest names in Nigeria’s fintech and crypto-adjacent ecosystem made the guest list: Flutterwave, Paystack, KuCoin, and a handful of others. Meaning this program is aimed at the core of the ecosystem.

But before anyone starts printing “CBN-approved” banners, the central bank is very clear: participation ≠ licensing. You’re being watched, not endorsed.

Why now? follow the money (literally)
Nigeria isn’t just crypto-curious—it’s crypto-obsessed. The country made $92 billion in crypto transactions in a year, making it one of the most active markets globally.

That kind of volume tends to attract attention from regulators, global watchdogs, and anyone worried about illicit flows. Nigeria only recently got off the FATF grey list (basically the financial equivalent of being on probation), and this pilot looks like part of the “we promise we’ve changed” arc.

What do these companies actually have to do?
They’ll be submitting monthly compliance reports, opening up their operations for review, and showing how they monitor transactions, onboard customers, and handle cross-border flows. There’s also a big push toward the FATF ‘Travel Rule’, sharing transaction data between platforms.

The bigger picture: Nigeria Is Building a Crypto Control Room
This pilot is just one piece of Nigeria’s much larger crypto control room. Nigeria is moving toward a coordinated regulatory system for digital assets, with multiple agencies, from the central bank to tax authorities, sharing oversight. For a country that’s both crypto-heavy and regulation-light (historically), this feels like a shift toward something more structured, globally aligned, and a way to keep the innovation but lose the chaos.

💸NSIA’s improving track record: The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority just reported a 91% drop in profit for 2025, but this is less of a crisis and more of a reality check. Last year’s earnings were inflated by the naira’s sharp devaluation, which boosted FX gains. With the currency stabilising this year, those gains disappeared, pulling profits down with them. But the fund is still doing well: total assets climbed to $3.4 billion, and core income (what it actually earns from investments) hit a record high. More importantly, the fund is steadily shifting toward real, long-term investments. It’s backing healthcare projects, power infrastructure, and startups (including a new fund with the Japan International Cooperation Agency). So, the easy, currency-driven profits are gone, but what’s left is a more stable model built on actual economic activity, which is exactly what a sovereign wealth fund is supposed to do.

👷🏽Pension fund to build the country? The National Pension Commission, which oversees over ₦28 trillion in retirement savings, is starting to channel more money into infrastructure like roads, housing, and transport. Until now, most of that money sat in government bonds, but investments in infrastructure are rising fast. The idea is to use long-term local funds to fix Nigeria’s infrastructure gap and, in the process, drive property growth. If it works, it could mean more housing supply, rising property values in new corridors, and less reliance on expensive bank loans or foreign funding.

⛏️Taxing mining money: Under new tax laws, the Nigeria Revenue Service has taken over the collection of mineral royalties from mining companies, a role previously handled within the sector. The Ministry of Solid Minerals Development will still regulate the industry, but the actual cash collection now sits with the tax authority. The shift ties back to sweeping tax reforms President Tinubu signed in 2025, aimed at boosting non-oil revenue and making systems more transparent. The government is betting that a more streamlined system (plus a planned digital royalty platform) will bring in more money from mining and position the sector as a bigger player in Nigeria’s economy.

Trump rolled out “reciprocal tariffs” on nearly the entire world, arguing that if countries impose high import duties on the U.S., America should return the favour. Nigeria, which reportedly imposes about a 27% tariff on U.S. goods, was hit with a 14% tariff.

Why Nigeria cares (but not too much)

The U.S. is a meaningful trading partner: Nigeria exported about $6.3 billion worth of goods there in 2023. But over 90% of that is oil and gas.

Oil doesn’t behave like your average export. It’s globally traded, price-sensitive, and less dependent on U.S. tariffs alone. So while the headline sounds dramatic, the immediate hit to Nigeria’s biggest export might be muted.

The people who will feel it

Nigeria’s non-oil exporters—the ones policymakers keep saying are the future—are now in a tight spot.

Under the now-undermined African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), many Nigerian goods like textiles, fertilisers, and agricultural products entered the U.S. duty-free, but that advantage is now fading; Small businesses built around those exemptions are the most exposed.

Nigeria’s leaders aren’t too bothered

Instead of retaliating (like China and others are threatening), Nigeria is taking the diplomatic route: talking to the U.S. and escalating conversations through the World Trade Organisation.

The potentially bigger problem

Even if Nigeria dodges the worst direct impact, the indirect effects could be messier. Tariffs like these tend to disrupt global supply chains, slow trade, push prices up worldwide. For an import-dependent country like Nigeria, that means higher costs, potential inflation spikes, and more pressure on the naira.

Could this force Nigeria to grow economically?

Nigeria has been here before — overexposed to one export, vulnerable to global shocks, and talking endlessly about diversification. Trade Minister Jumoke Oduwole said this could hurt, but also might be the push we need to diversify exports more.

The government is already hinting at next steps, like looking beyond the U.S. to other markets, leaning into African trade via AfCFTA, and improving quality standards so Nigerian goods can compete globally.

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