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17 August 2026

Nigeria’s New Virtual Asset (VA) Tax Regime: Legal And Regulatory Implications For Startups

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Stren & Blan Partners

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Nigeria's Revenue Service has issued comprehensive guidelines clarifying how virtual assets are taxed under existing legislation. The framework addresses taxation for individuals and businesses engaged in cryptocurrency trading, virtual asset service providers, and peer-to-peer marketplaces. A notable feature is the requirement to compute gains in US dollars rather than Naira.
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Nigeria now has a published position on how virtual assets are taxed. On 31 July 2026, the Nigeria Revenue Service (“NRS” or “the Service”) issued Information Circular No. 2026/21, Guidelines on the Taxation of Virtual Assets (the “Guidelines”), and in doing so answered a set of questions that taxpayers and exchanges had been navigating largely on assumption.

The Guidelines are administrative guidance and they wereissued under section 4 of the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Act 2025, the Ninth Schedule to the Nigeria Tax Act 2025 (the “NTA”), and section 79 and the Fifth Schedule to the Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025 (the “NTAA”). Their function is to take charging provisions that already exist and explain how they land on virtual asset (“VA”) activity. Nothing in them creates a new tax.

The scope is wide. If one buys, sells, swaps or otherwise deals in VA; receive income or payment in VA; operate as a Virtual Asset Service Provider (“VASP”) or peer-to-peer (“P2P”) marketplace; derive Nigerian-taxable income from VA; or provide services connected to VA, they are all within the framework.

The headline is the method of computing gains, which is measured in dollars rather than Naira.

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The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

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