Blockchain.com Enters Nigeria SEC Regulatory Sandbox for Crypto Operations

MakeCryippreferred on

• Blockchain.com has been admitted to Nigeria’s SEC-run Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme (ARIP), the company said Aug. 18, 2026.
• ARIP status is a conditional, revocable Approval-in-Principle, not a full operating licence, and carries specific SEC compliance requirements.
• Yellow Card Financial Limited and Pisi Payments Solution Limited were admitted in the same batch.

Blockchain.com has been admitted to Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme, the crypto exchange and wallet provider said in a statement Aug. 18, 2026.

Owen Odia, Blockchain.com’s general manager for Africa, said in the statement:

“Nigeria is one of Africa’s most important digital asset markets, and participating in the SEC’s ARIP is an important step forward in our long-term commitment to the country.”

Nigeria’s evolving crypto framework includes SEC oversight through ARIP, where Blockchain.com has now secured conditional admission.

What an ARIP Approval-in-Principle Actually Means

The Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme is a sandbox Nigeria’s SEC runs for virtual asset service providers and other fintech firms. It lets the Commission test emerging digital asset business models, assess operational risk, and shape investor-protection and anti-money-laundering rules before companies receive full registration.

Admission grants an Approval-in-Principle, not a full operating licence. That status is conditional and can be revoked. Companies in the programme must maintain fidelity bonds covering at least 25% of shareholder funds, run a physical office in Nigeria, appoint a resident chief executive, and register with Nigeria’s Financial Intelligence Unit.

Who Else Was Admitted

Blockchain.com’s admission came in the same batch as two other firms, Yellow Card Financial Limited and Pisi Payments Solution Limited.

Lasbery Chioma Oludimu, Yellow Card’s group vice president of operations and managing director for Nigeria, said:

“We recognise that the only way to build and maintain the integrity of the virtual asset ecosystem and scale operations is through regulation.”

Busha Digital Limited and Quidax Technologies Limited were ARIP’s first two participants, according to the SEC’s own public registry.

The Commission has since added more firms in stages. Its own circulars show it cleared seven additional fintech companies for the programme on July 2, 2026, then two more virtual asset service providers, GIGX Technologies and KuCoin, the following day.

Part of a Broader Regulatory Push

The Nigeria admission follows two other regulatory moves for Blockchain.com this year. In February, the company secured registration with the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority, operating there under the name BC Operations, about four years after it withdrew an earlier FCA application in 2022.

In May, Blockchain.com is said to have confidentially filed a draft registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ahead of a possible public listing, at a valuation of about $7 billion, roughly half the $14 billion it carried in 2022.

Blockchain.com’s Recent Regulatory Milestones

The Approval-in-Principle stays conditional, and Blockchain.com still needs full SEC registration before it can operate outside the sandbox’s supervision.