Nigeria is taking a major step toward tightening its grip on cryptocurrency activity by introducing new tax laws that could make crypto transactions easier to trace using national identification systems.
Under the newly introduced Nigerian Tax Administration Act (NTAA) 2025, the government plans to monitor crypto transactions in real time by linking them to Tax Identification Numbers (TINs) and National Identification Numbers (NINs). This means crypto activity could soon be tied directly to an individual’s identity and tax history.
According to a report by TechCabal, the approach allows tax authorities to follow crypto flows without having to monitor the blockchain itself. Instead, by connecting transactions to national ID and tax records, regulators can match crypto activity with declared income and spot potential tax gaps more easily.
Why Nigeria Is Linking National IDs to Crypto
As part of the plan, crypto exchanges and service providers operating in Nigeria will be required to collect and report users’ TINs and NINs. This effectively brings cryptocurrency into the country’s broader identity and tax-tracking system.
TINs are issued by Nigeria’s tax authorities to track tax compliance for individuals and businesses. NINs, on the other hand, are tied to biometric data such as fingerprints and facial recognition, making them a powerful tool for identity verification.
With these systems in place, authorities can trace crypto transactions from exchanges to individuals and compare them with reported income—without building expensive or complex blockchain surveillance tools.
Nigeria’s financial regulators have already signaled their intent to formally tax crypto, announcing last year that they were considering legislation to bring digital assets into the country’s regulatory framework. The move also aligns with the OECD’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), a global initiative aimed at improving tax transparency around digital assets.
A Crypto Powerhouse in Africa
These developments come as Nigeria continues to rank among the world’s leading crypto markets. According to Chainalysis’ 2025 Global Adoption Index, Nigeria is once again one of Africa’s top crypto adopters, with the market gaining an estimated $92.1 billion in value between July 2024 and June 2025.
At the same time, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has set up a new task force to explore the use of stablecoins. This follows slow adoption of the government-backed eNaira and growing public skepticism about its effectiveness.
Overall, Nigeria’s latest move signals a clear message: crypto may be here to stay, but it won’t stay unregulated.
