Nigeria has issued its first formal framework for taxing virtual assets, setting out tax obligations for cryptocurrency users, exchanges, peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms, and other digital asset businesses as it moves to bring the fast-growing sector into the country’s mainstream tax system.
In a public notice issued on Monday, the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) said it had published Guidelines on the Taxation of Virtual Assets, covering taxpayers, Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), peer-to-peer (P2P) marketplace operators and other participants in the digital-asset ecosystem.
The framework requires taxpayers and service providers to maintain transaction records, file relevant tax returns, and determine taxable income using the fair market value of virtual assets on the date each transaction occurs.
The guidelines also impose reporting, record-keeping and compliance obligations on virtual asset service providers (VASPs) and P2P marketplace operators for transactions conducted on their platforms, in line with the Nigeria Tax Act 2025 and the Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025.
It also goes beyond reporting requirements, outlining tax treatment for income gained from virtual asset activities, including gains made from selling digital tokens, payments received in virtual assets, mining rewards, staking income, decentralised finance (DeFi) rewards, and other forms of digital asset income.
