The approving authority behind this taxation remains unclear, whether it’s the Nigerian government or an agency like the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
KuCoin, a leading global cryptocurrency exchange, has announced that effective July 8, the platform will begin collecting a value-added tax (VAT) at a rate of 7.5% on transaction fees for users whose KYC (Know Your Customer) information is registered in Nigeria.
This new policy, announced on X, means that Nigerian users will see a slight increase in the fees associated with their trades on KuCoin. Notably, the 7.5% VAT is only applied to the transaction fee, not the total transaction amount and will cover all transaction types on the KuCoin platform.
However, KuCoin is among the crypto websites currently banned by the Nigerian government. Speaking with some Nigerian crypto stakeholders about the announced VAT levy, they believe the development is confusing, especially as the regulatory authorities have yet to speak.