Nigerian cryptocurrency exchange Quidax has discontinued its peer-to-peer (P2P) trading service effective January 23, 2026. The decision was announced by the Quidax Support Team, which stated the move was due to user preference for faster transaction methods like instant swaps and order-book trading. The service had been launched just five months prior.
The halting of P2P services occurs within the context of Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulatory sandbox, formally known as the Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme. This program was designed to track digital-asset exchanges with the goal of formalizing Nigeria's crypto market. However, the SEC has paused the issuance of full licenses to participants, including Quidax and fellow exchange Busha, in order to reassess its supervisory capabilities.
Regulatory pressures have intensified significantly. On January 16, 2026, the Nigerian SEC increased the minimum capital requirement for crypto exchanges to N500 million (approximately $352,000). This substantial hike, coupled with the licensing stall, has forced exchanges to strategically reposition. As part of this repositioning, Quidax has also removed 35 tokens from its platform, including various meme coins, gaming tokens, and Worldcoin (WLD).
The regulatory concern stems from the nature of P2P trading, which has historically dominated Nigeria's crypto economy. The SEC has expressed apprehension over the "obscure flows of transactions and off-platform settlements" that are difficult to track, even though Quidax had implemented merchant authentication, Level-3 KYC, and two-factor authentication for its P2P feature.
This development marks a significant bottleneck for Nigeria's crypto sandbox experiment, highlighting the tension between innovation and regulatory control. The future of the local market now hinges on increased formalization, with potential impacts on venture growth and user trust as compliance requirements shape the trading landscape.
