Jude Ozinegbe is the founder of Cyberchain, a blockchain advisory and compliance-focused firm operating at the intersection of digital assets, regulation, and financial innovation.
He is a Digital Transformation Consultant and Lead Blockchain Compliance Facilitator, with deep experience helping startups, financial institutions, and regulators navigate blockchain adoption responsibly.
With a strong background in crypto risk, virtual asset compliance, and policy engagement, Ozinegbe has become a trusted voice in conversations around VASP licensing, AML frameworks, and institutional crypto adoption in Africa.
His work focuses on ensuring that blockchain innovation scales in a way that protects consumers, attracts capital, and delivers measurable economic value.
In this interview with Techeconomy, Jude speaks on regulation, taxation, VASP licensing, and how Nigeria can move crypto from informal activity to institutional value. Excerpt:
TE: Nigeria reportedly recorded about $92.1 billion in crypto activity within a year. How can this level of activity be converted into real economic value for the country?
Jude Ozinegbe: From an industry lens, the opportunity is formalization, not suppression. Nigeria already has demand, liquidity, and talent. The real win is to channel that activity through regulated rails, tiered licensed VASPs, compliant on-ramps, and auditable transaction trails.
Once crypto activity becomes visible, government captures value through taxes, regulatory fees, FX efficiency, and data-driven policy, while citizens benefit from cheaper payments, access to capital, and broader financial inclusion. In simple terms, we must move crypto from being merely busy to becoming bankable.
TE: Which sectors stand to benefit the most if crypto and digital assets are fully integrated into Nigeria’s financial system?
Ozinegbe: There are three clear winners. First is financial services, payments, remittances, treasury management, and capital formation. Second is trade and SMEs, particularly cross-border commerce, where crypto reduces FX friction and settlement delays. Third is capital markets, through tokenized assets, digital commodities, and alternative investment products.
When you add public sector payments and the creative and technology economy, the impact becomes multiplicative rather than incremental.
TE: Nigeria’s new Tax Act has raised concerns within the innovation ecosystem. How can taxation be balanced without stifling growth?
Ozinegbe: The principle is straightforward: tax actual operations, not projections.
Government must start with clear classifications, whether an entity is engaged in trading, brokerage, custody, or infrastructure provision.
Taxes should be moderate, predictable, and applied at licensed touchpoints, rather than imposed as blanket or punitive measures.
Certainty beats aggression every time. When the rules are clear, compliance becomes cheaper than evasion, and innovation stays within the country instead of migrating offshore.
TE: Beyond taxation, what long-term economic benefits does crypto offer Nigeria?
Ozinegbe: This is fundamentally a jobs and skills story. Blockchain engineers, compliance officers, cyber-risk professionals, data analysts, these are high-value roles that build durable human capital. Add foreign direct investment, local infrastructure development, and Nigeria positioning itself as West Africa’s digital finance hub, and the value goes far beyond revenue.
Crypto is not just about money flows; it’s about human capital formation and competitive advantage.
TE: What is your assessment of Nigeria’s current progress on VASP licensing?
Ozinegbe: Nigeria is moving in the right direction. We’re seeing SEC-led frameworks, sandbox approaches, and clearer definitions around exchanges, custodians, and brokers.
This matters because markets don’t fear regulation—they fear uncertainty. Licensing is what separates speculative activity from institutional participation. Without it, serious capital stays on the sidelines.
TE: How does licensing protect consumers while also attracting investment?
Ozinegbe: Licensing enforces governance standards, segregation of client assets, AML controls, and dispute resolution mechanisms. For consumers, that translates to trust and protection. For institutional and foreign investors, it provides risk clarity. Capital is conservative by nature, it follows rules, not vibes.
TE: What lessons can Nigeria learn from other jurisdictions that have successfully regulated crypto markets?
Ozinegbe: Three key lessons stand out: First, clarity over complexity. Secondly, phased implementation rather than regulatory shock therapy. Thirdly, strong dialogue between regulators and industry. Successful jurisdictions don’t copy and paste laws, they operationalise them. Nigeria’s advantage is scale. If we get the framework right, the market itself will do most of the heavy lifting.
TE: What is your closing message to policymakers and industry stakeholders?
Ozinegbe: Crypto is already Nigerian. The real policy question is whether the value remains informal or becomes a driver of national growth. That choice is not technical, it’s strategic.
