Leading crypto finance platform, Blockchain.com will open a physical office in Nigeria during the second quarter of 2025, becoming the first foreign cryptocurrency exchange to establish a brick-and-mortar presence in the West African nation.
The UK-based platform, which enables users to buy, sell, and trade digital currencies, also plans to expand operations across Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa. The company serves over 37 million verified users worldwide and considers Nigeria one of its fastest-growing markets.
“Nigeria has taken meaningful steps towards creating a clear framework for crypto,” Owenize Odia, general manager for Blockchain.com’s Africa operations, told Bloomberg. “Applying for a crypto exchange licence in Nigeria is a top priority.”
The continent has, in recent times, attracted growing interest from international crypto firms as regulatory frameworks take shape across multiple countries.
Regulatory landscape drives expansion
Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission now requires foreign cryptocurrency companies to obtain proper licensing following the country’s new Investments and Securities Act, passed in March 2025.
The legislation grants the SEC authority to regulate digital assets while formally recognising them as securities.
Blockchain.com would become the first foreign crypto firm to apply for such licensing under these new requirements. The regulatory clarity represents a departure from previous uncertainty that deterred many international players from establishing formal operations.
This push for formal oversight is part of a broader trend across Africa, where governments are grappling with how best to regulate the fast-growing crypto sector.
Ghana released draft guidelines through its central bank last year, while Kenya remains in a research phase, studying digital assets before drawing up rules. South Africa has moved faster, already requiring licenses for crypto platforms operating in the country.
Security infrastructure supports expansion
The expansion puts Blockchain.com in direct competition with global players like Coinbase and Opera, which are also targeting Africa’s growing crypto market.
As it moves into these new regions, Blockchain.com has leaned on its security infrastructure to support expansion.
A partnership with Stripe since 2022 has boosted fraud prevention efforts, especially in the U.S., and tools like Stripe Radar are expected to help safeguard users as the platform navigates varied regulatory and fraud landscapes.
Market implications in emerging Crypto Hubs
The entry of foreign crypto firms like Blockchain.com into Africa could push regulators to speed up clear, consistent rules for digital assets. Such regulatory clarity tends to attract investment and innovation.
Turkey offers a useful example. CEO Peter Smith has also mentioned plans to expand into Turkey, where recent regulatory reforms led by Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek have strengthened oversight. Turkey’s move to require digital asset firms to register with its capital markets authority helped restore investor confidence and brought fresh foreign capital, leading to its removal from the Financial Action Task Force’s grey list in 2024.
Turkey further tightened its crypto regulations in March, introducing significant capital requirements for exchanges and custody providers, mandatory licensing, and management approvals. Şimşek is also finalising a transaction tax on crypto and stock trading as part of broader fiscal reforms.
Turkey’s evolving regulatory landscape provides a relevant example of how firm and clear oversight can build market trust—lessons that may resonate as African regulators respond to growing foreign participation and seek to foster sustainable crypto ecosystems.
