Bukola Afeni
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has signed the Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, 2026, establishing a coordinated framework to regulate Nigeria’s virtual assets sector, protect investors, and support responsible innovation.
The Presidency, in a statement issued on Friday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the Executive Order takes immediate effect and is designed to harmonise the regulation of virtual assets while strengthening collaboration among financial, revenue, and capital market regulators.
According to the statement, the Order “is designed to close these gaps through supervisory coordination, without introducing new layers of regulation or displacing the mandates of existing agencies.”
The Presidency said the new framework responds to a fragmented regulatory environment that has exposed the country to money laundering, terrorism financing, cyber threats, fraud, data privacy risks, and revenue losses, adding that unregistered operators had exploited these gaps to defraud unsuspecting Nigerians.
Under the Executive Order, a Virtual Asset Council has been established and will be chaired by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), with the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) serving as vice-chairs.
Other members include the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
The Council will provide policy direction, coordinate regulatory activities, and work with the Attorney-General of the Federation to develop a harmonised legal framework for the sector.
The statement stressed that the Executive Order “does not create a new regulator or transfer powers between agencies,” noting that each institution will retain its statutory mandate while working within a coordinated framework.
It added that securities-related virtual asset activities will remain under the SEC, while payment, settlement, custody, and other non-security virtual asset services will be regulated by the CBN.
As part of the initiative, the Central Bank of Nigeria will establish a regulatory sandbox to allow eligible operators to test virtual asset products, blockchain services, and other innovations under close regulatory supervision before they are introduced into the wider market.
The Nigerian Revenue Service is also expected to release a tax policy for the virtual assets sector to provide certainty for taxpayers, strengthen compliance, and ensure the industry contributes fairly to national revenue.
The statement further disclosed that the Federal Government is finalising a comprehensive Virtual Assets White Paper that will outline Nigeria’s long-term policy direction and implementation priorities for the sector.
President Tinubu also directed the Virtual Asset Council to develop a Harmonised Implementation Framework within 30 days to ensure the swift implementation of the Executive Order.
