Regulating Nigeria’s Digital Asset Market: Key Issues In The SEC’s Proposed New Rules

Introduction

Following the statutory recognition of digital and virtual assets under the Investments and Securities Act, 2025 (“ISA 2025”), the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or the “Commission”) has continued to develop a more comprehensive regulatory architecture for activities involving digital and virtual assets. The SEC’s exposure draft of the “Rules on Digital and Virtual Assets Operations, Custody and Markets” (“Draft Rules”) represents an important step in that process.

The Draft Rules, which were released by the SEC on August 20, 2026, with a two-week window for stakeholders to send in their comments and recommendations, go considerably beyond the regulation of traditional virtual asset service providers (“VASPs”) to address a wider range of activities and business models, including Digital Asset Exchanges (“DAXs”), Digital Asset Custodians (“DACs”), Digital Asset Platform Operators (“DAPOs”), Digital Asset Offering Platforms (“DAOPs”), Real-World Asset