The Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed a new regulatory framework that could require some digital asset businesses operating in Nigeria to maintain minimum capital of up to ₦2 billion. The proposal is contained in the Commission’s proposed Rules on Digital and Virtual Asset Operations, Custody and Markets, as regulators move to strengthen oversight of the country’s rapidly expanding digital asset industry.
Under the proposed framework, Digital Asset Exchanges and Digital Asset Custodians would face the highest minimum capital requirement of ₦2 billion. Other categories would have lower thresholds, with Real World Asset Tokenisation and Offering Platforms and Digital Asset Offering Platforms required to maintain ₦1 billion, while Digital Asset Intermediaries and Digital Asset Platform Operators would require ₦500 million. Ancillary Virtual Asset Service Providers would have a ₦300 million minimum capital requirement.
The SEC is also proposing a ₦30 million registration fee for several major categories of digital asset operators, including exchanges, custodians, platform operators, offering platforms and real world asset tokenisation platforms. The proposed requirements are part of efforts to ensure that companies operating in the sector have adequate financial capacity, stronger governance structures and sufficient resources to protect investors and maintain market stability.
The proposed rules come as the SEC intensifies efforts to bring Nigeria’s digital asset market under a more structured regulatory regime while allowing responsible innovation to continue. The Commission has already admitted additional Virtual Asset Service Providers into its Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme, which allows regulators to assess emerging digital asset business models within a controlled environment. The new capital requirements could therefore raise the financial entry barrier for operators, while potentially strengthening confidence and investor protection within Nigeria’s growing digital asset ecosystem.