President Bola Tinubu has signed the Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, 2026, establishing a new framework to harmonise the regulation of virtual assets and strengthen oversight of Nigeria’s rapidly growing cryptocurrency sector.
The order, signed on Friday pursuant to Section 5 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), takes immediate effect and is aimed at addressing regulatory fragmentation, closing oversight gaps and promoting responsible innovation in the digital economy.
In a statement issued by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the Presidency said the new framework would improve coordination among regulators while tackling fraud, money laundering, terrorism financing, cybersecurity risks and revenue leakages associated with virtual asset transactions.
According to the statement, the order responds to the increasingly blurred lines between currencies, money, commodities and securities in the virtual assets ecosystem, which has left existing regulators operating in silos with overlapping responsibilities and regulatory gaps.
“Too often, unregistered and fraudulent operators have exploited these gaps to prey on unsuspecting Nigerians, costing families their savings,” the statement said.
To address the challenge, the order establishes a Virtual Asset Council to 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-chairmen. 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 and institutional framework aligned with Nigeria’s economic, security and social objectives.
The order also creates a Virtual Asset Office, domiciled at the CBN, to serve as the council’s operational arm. The office will oversee day-to-day coordination, information sharing, applications and reporting among participating agencies through an integrated supervisory technology platform, while allowing each institution to retain ownership and control of its data.
The Presidency stressed that the executive order does not create a new regulator or transfer statutory powers from existing agencies.
“Each institution retains its full statutory mandate and independence, and the framework coordinates their work rather than replacing it,” the statement said.
Under the framework, the SEC will register virtual asset activities involving securities, while the CBN will regulate payment, settlement, custody and other services relating to non-security virtual assets. The council will determine the appropriate regulator in cases where jurisdiction is unclear.
The order also authorises the CBN to implement a regulatory sandbox that will allow eligible operators to test virtual asset products, services and blockchain-based solutions under regulatory supervision before wider market deployment.
According to the Presidency, the sandbox will enable regulators to assess the implications of emerging products for monetary sovereignty, financial stability, market integrity, consumer protection, financial inclusion and revenue administration. The CBN is expected to announce further details of the initiative.
In addition, the Nigeria Revenue Service will introduce a dedicated tax policy for the virtual assets sector to provide greater certainty for taxpayers and service providers, improve voluntary compliance and ensure the industry’s contribution to national revenue.
The Federal Government also disclosed that it is finalising a comprehensive Virtual Assets White Paper to outline Nigeria’s long-term policy direction and implementation priorities for the sector.
The statement added that the newly inaugurated council has been directed to produce a Harmonised Implementation Framework within 30 days to facilitate the swift implementation of the executive order.
Nigeria has emerged as one of the world’s leading cryptocurrency markets by transaction volume. The Central Bank banned banks from facilitating cryptocurrency transactions in 2021, effectively pushing trading outside the formal financial system, before reversing the policy in 2023 and introducing a regulatory framework for virtual asset service providers. The SEC has also been developing regulations to bring digital asset exchanges under its oversight.
