Nigeria · Nigeria CBN
CBN Guidelines on Operations of Bank Accounts for Virtual Assets Service Providers
GuidelineIn Force
- Issuing authority
- Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)
- Effective date
- 22 December 2023 (lifted earlier 2021 crypto ban)
- Scope
- Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)
Key requirements
Major shift in Nigerian crypto policy. From 2021, CBN had banned Nigerian banks from opening accounts for crypto businesses. December 2023 lifted that ban, but with strict conditions. Banks can now serve Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), but those VASPs must be licensed by SEC, do proper customer due diligence, screen for PEPs and sanctions, monitor transactions and report suspicious activity. Effectively brought crypto into the regulated AML perimeter for the first time. Nigeria is one of the world's biggest crypto markets so this matters globally. It's also a model other African regulators are watching.