TAXATION | Nigeria Made Over $270 Million from Digital Payments in 2025, Now it’s Targeting Crypto
Nigeria’s government has sharply increased revenue from digital payments, and regulators are now extending that tax regime to cryptocurrency withdrawals, a clear signal that Africa’s largest crypto market is firmly on the fiscal radar.
According to official data, collections from the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), a fee applied to qualifying digital transfers, rose to about $276 million in the first 11 months of 2025, up from roughly $133 million over the same period in 2024.
That represents more than a 100% year-on-year increase.
The levy, now reclassified as stamp duty under Nigeria’s 2025 Tax Act, has become a predictable revenue stream for the federal government, which projects annual collections could exceed $321 million from 2026 onward.
Expanding the Tax Net to Crypto
Previously limited to bank and fintech transactions, the stamp duty regime has now been extended to crypto-to-fiat withdrawals, effectively closing a gap that allowed digital asset activity to operate outside direct transaction-level taxation.
Several Nigerian crypto platforms, including Quidax, Palremit, and JuicyWay, have notified users that a $0.04 stamp duty will apply to eligible Naira withdrawals beginning in early 2026.
