ISA 2025 and the 2026 tax change: what actually changed

Two things happened at once — crypto became a security in law, and the tax treatment moved from a flat rate to progressive rates.

Crypto is now a security in Nigerian law

The single most important change is one of legal category rather than of rate. Under the Investments and Securities Act (ISA) 2025, digital assets are legally recognised as securities, which places them under the Securities and Exchange Commission and within capital-markets regulation.

That replaces an improvised arrangement. Before it, the SEC had been regulating the space through the Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme (ARIP) — a temporary measure designed to bring operators into some form of oversight while a proper legal basis was built. ARIP was a holding pattern; ISA 2025 is the actual framework.

For an ordinary buyer the practical meaning is that platforms serving Nigerians now sit inside a recognised regulatory perimeter with a named supervisor, rather than in a grey zone. That is a genuine improvement, and it also explains the reporting obligations described further down.

The tax change from January 2026

The Nigeria Tax Administration Act (NTAA) 2025 brought digital assets into the personal income tax framework. The change that matters to individuals took effect for 2026:

The shift from a flat rate to progressive rates has a consequence people rarely think through: your crypto tax now depends on your other income. Two people with identical bitcoin profits can owe different amounts, because the rate applied depends on where those gains sit relative to the rest of what they earn.

Under the old flat 10%, the calculation was self-contained. It no longer is, which means a rough estimate based on the gain alone will be wrong more often than right.

Exchanges now report monthly

This is the part with the most immediate practical effect, and it gets the least coverage. Registered exchanges must collect detailed transaction data and submit monthly reports to the Nigeria Revenue Service — including asset type, market value and user identity details.

Monthly is unusually frequent. Most reporting regimes elsewhere in the world are annual: the EU's DAC8 produces one report a year, and Norway and Finland moved to direct reporting on a yearly cycle. Nigeria chose twelve times that frequency.

The consequence is straightforward and not a moral point. Any mismatch between what you declare and what the authority already holds becomes visible quickly rather than after a long delay. Anyone who intends to be compliant should keep their own record in parallel — date, amount, naira value and platform for every disposal — because reconciling against someone else's data is much easier when you have your own.

What has not changed

Worth stating plainly, because regulation news tends to generate more confusion than it removes.

Buying and holding bitcoin remains legal. Nothing in ISA 2025 restricts individuals from owning digital assets. The Act is about how operators are supervised and how the market is regulated, not about whether you may hold.

Holding is still not a taxable event. Tax arises on gains, meaning on disposal — not on the value of what sits in your wallet. A price rise on an asset you have not sold creates no liability.

Choose a registered platform. With digital assets now inside the capital-markets perimeter, the difference between a registered operator and an unregistered one is meaningful in a way it was not before. Registration is now checkable, and an operator outside the perimeter is outside it deliberately.

More on rates and filing on the crypto tax page, and on funding in instant bank transfer.

Frequently asked questions

This page is general information and does not replace personalised tax or legal advice. Nigerian rules in this area changed recently and continue to develop — confirm your position with a qualified adviser or the Nigeria Revenue Service before acting. Figures reflect publicly available information as of July 2026.