Nigeria Demands Crypto Firms Lock Up 80% of Customer Assets Offline

Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed new rules for crypto companies operating in the country. The rules aim to strengthen investor protection and reduce the risk of customers losing access to their assets when a digital asset company fails.

The proposal requires crypto exchanges and other digital asset firms to separate customer funds from their own, strengthen how they safeguard cryptocurrencies, and report major losses, cyber incidents, and other material operational failures to the regulator. This includes notifying the SEC within 24 hours of any incident, with further updates as necessary.

The rules also propose higher financial requirements for digital asset businesses, including a minimum paid-up capital of ₦2 billion ($1.5 million) for Digital Asset Exchanges and Digital Asset Custodians, and ₦500 million ($371,600) for other types of digital asset firms.