Nigeria leads globally in potential cryptocurrency tax revenue

Nigeria has emerged as a global leader in potential cryptocurrency tax revenue, with taxable crypto activity estimated to contribute 12.31 percent to the country’s public finances. According to a report by Chainalysis, Nigeria recorded approximately $4.4 billion in taxable crypto activity in 2025, an amount representing more than 38 percent of its estimated $11.3 billion budget deficit for that year.

Data cited by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) indicates that between July 2023 and June 2024, Nigeria received roughly $59 billion in crypto-asset value. Stablecoins, which are digital tokens pegged to assets like the U.S. dollar, accounted for over 65 percent of these inflows in 2024. Nigeria represented approximately 60 percent of all stablecoin inflows into Sub-Saharan Africa between late 2019 and early 2025, with the market dominated by Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC).

While the scale of adoption is significant, challenges remain regarding tax collection. Much of the transaction volume occurs through channels that are difficult for international tax-reporting mechanisms to capture. Although the OECD’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) is expected to facilitate better information exchange starting in 2027, experts suggest it may only capture a fraction of global taxable crypto activity.