The Evolution of Blockchain Policy and Crypto Regulation in Nigeria: From Resistance to Resilience

In 2017, discussing “Blockchain & Crypto Law” in Nigeria felt like speaking a foreign language in a room full of skeptics. This was essentially why I developed and delivered the first-ever blockchain law course in Africa, ‘Blockchain for Lawyers 101’, through Infusion Lawyers in July 2019 in Lagos, and then sailed to Abuja in December 2019 on popular demand. We badly needed to equip the architects and advocates that will build the future. Fast forward to 2026, we are no longer debating if blockchain—or arguably its biggest application yet—crypto, belongs in our economy, but how it will be regulated in a manner that aligns with the country’s digital economy and sovereignty.

This is one of the reasons I am honored to have been invited by the International Centre for Emerging Technologies (ICET), Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State (FUT Minna), to deliver a guest lecture for their Masters in Fintech & Financial Blockchain (MFB 724). My session is titled:

“The Evolution of Blockchain Policy and Crypto Regulations in Nigeria: Lessons for Innovators, Regulators, and Policymakers.”

This isn’t just a theoretical lecture; it is a synthesis of nearly a decade on the frontlines of African Web3—an insider journey of a legal consultant, policy advocate, and ecosystem builder. As a legal consultant to leading blockchain and crypto businesses since 2018 as Lead Partner of Infusion Lawyers; my communal and national advocacy as the General Secretary and later President of the Stakeholders in Blockchain Technology Association of Nigeria (SiBAN) from 2020 to 2022, General Secretary of the Blockchain Industry Coordinating Committee of Nigeria (BICCoN) from 2021 to 20202; and now my institutional and continental advocacy as the current Executive Chair of the Africa-focused Virtual Asset Service Providers Association (VASPA). So, you will not be wrong to imagine that these consultancy and industry leadership experiences provide me that triangulated perspective—legal, communal, and institutional—that I believe will enrich my lecture.

Tracing the Arc: Three Eras of Evolution

My lecture will trace Nigeria’s journey through three distinct lenses, based on my personal involvement in helping to shape this ever-evolving ecosystem over the years:

1. 2017–2020: The “Wild West” and Responsive Advocacy

As a legal expert and consultant for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) during these early years as the Lead Partner of Infusion Lawyers and the Head of the Blockchain & Virtual Asset Practice of the law firm, I saw firsthand the friction between the inherently globalized, borderless blockchain-based applications and the resistance-driven, rigid local frameworks they often faced. I didn’t think this approach was best. And so did many other industry stakeholders.

So, some of us had to literally build the plane while flying it, advising both local startups and foreign innovators on how to navigate environments that lacked regulatory recognition and legislative formalization. This vacuum often fueled discretionary actions that were sometimes not consistent with the rule of law and global best practices. Considering my legal and compliance background, I had objective reasons to believe that regulation was the only way, not prohibition. We continued to push, trying to turn lemons into lemonade. 

2. 2020–2022: The Era of Community and Head-on Advocacy (SiBAN Leadership)

When we thought Nigeria now had enough data to make data-driven policy and regulatory decisions regarding blockchain and crypto adoption, Nigeria ironically “unplugged” in February 2021. Serving as General Secretary and later President of Stakeholders in Blockchain Technology Association of Nigeria (SiBAN), I stood at the intersection of industry and authority. This was the era of the 2021 CBN circular—a period of intense advocacy where we fought—yes, fought!—to prove that regulation, not prohibition, was the path to long-term national security and economic growth. Shortcuts were never going to be the answer. Nigeria needed a cohesive and an objective national strategy.

Though it took years—as would be expected—our voice was eventually listened to, not only heard. Nigeria began to gradually replace outright resistance with restrictive regulation, starting with the recognition of VASPs as “financial institutions” under the new Money Laundering Act 2022 for the purpose of AML/CFT compliance. And then came the Finance Act 2022, which included “digital assets” as assets under the amended Capital Gains Tax Act at the time. Eventually, the Federal Government, essentially through the visionary and development-first approach of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), introduced and adopted the National Blockchain Policy in 2023, signed by the late President Muhammadu Buhari. By the way, I think NITDA is one of the few public agencies in Nigeria who have a fine understanding of developmental approaches to technology innovations and merits full support and a front seat where policymaking in the digital economy is concerned, if you ask me. (I was the General Secretary of SiBAN when the policy was being drafted, and we had to send delegates, led by yours truly, to review sessions in Abuja as far back as 2020.) Thankfully, SiBAN continues to make efforts to restore its place in the Nigerian blockchain industry. Personally, essentially to ensure grassroot mobilization and engagement in Nigeria, I look forward to this restoration under the Stanley Golomo-led Restoration Committee. The industry is bigger than all of us. And the work in the vineyard must continue, regardless.

3. 2024–Present: The Institutional Shift (VASPA)

In the virtual assets vineyard today, as a Founding Trustee and Executive Chair of the Virtual Assets Service Providers Association (VASPA), my focus has shifted to a continental mission in Africa, where we have adopted the highest level of professionalization and institutional standards. Here, with some of the brightest minds in the continent, I have the duty to ensure that our nascent industry works hand-in-hand with governments, regulators, and agencies to ensure Africa gets it right, including Nigeria, my fatherland. 

So far, amongst other initiatives, VASPA has launched a 2026 Builders Accord to get builders across Africa to move from talking to taking the walk; launched a first-of-its-kind, industry-wide Project Green-White-Green to help Nigeria constructively realign its virtual asset industry after years of “regulatory frictions” and “regulatory paradox”. And we are transiting to a Pan-African leadership with some of the brightest minds drawn from various countries in Africa, to ensure stronger representation, enhanced advocacy, and more strategic alliances in the private and public sectors. (You can find out more about being a part of what we are doing in VASPA here.) I thank BICCoN, the intercommunity body in Nigeria’s blockchain industry, for its recent collaboration where we presented a landmark policy advisory to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) towards securing the country’s virtual asset industry against financial crimes.

Lessons for the Triad

In my lecture at FUT Minna, I will be distilling specific lessons for three key groups:

1. For Innovators: Why organized industry participation, self-regulation, and regulatory compliance is your greatest competitive edge, not hurdles
2. For Regulators: Why shifting from an “Enforcement-First” to a “Development-First” regulatory approach is vital at this nascent state of the industry in Africa
3. For Policymakers: Why policy-making needs to be informed and proactive in order to avoid self-sabotage of the continent’s global competitiveness in digital finance and the digital economy 

The Road to Sustainable Growth and Development

Nigeria’s story is unique. We have one of the highest adoption rates in the world, born out of necessity and fueled by the resilience of our youth. But adoption without a solid legal and regulatory foundation as well as strategic industry alignment is unsustainable.

I am grateful to FUT Minna’s ICET for the privilege to meet its MFB 724 class on 17 February 2026. While the lecture is restricted to the MFB 724 class, I’ll ensure that I share my after-lecture experience with you, and maybe tell you more about the unprecedented work that the International Centre for Emerging Technologies (ICET) is doing. I look forward to sharing my “war stories” and insights. Here, we are not just studying history; we are equipping the next generation to write it. 

Reflecting on the last 10 years, what do you think was the single most pivotal moment for crypto in Nigeria? Let’s share our unique experiences and history in the comments.