President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has signed the Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, 2026, ushering in a new regulatory framework to tackle fraud, strengthen oversight, and foster responsible innovation in Nigeria’s fast-growing virtual assets sector.
The Executive Order, signed pursuant to Section 5 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), takes immediate effect and seeks to harmonize the regulation of virtual assets by improving coordination among the country’s financial, revenue, and capital market regulators.
The Presidency said the move responds to growing concerns over the fragmented regulation of virtual assets, whose evolving nature increasingly cuts across currencies, money, commodities, and securities.
According to the government, the absence of coordinated oversight has created regulatory gaps that have exposed Nigeria to money laundering, terrorism financing, cyber threats, data privacy breaches, fraud, and revenue leakages.
“Too often, unregistered and fraudulent operators have exploited these gaps to prey on unsuspecting Nigerians, costing families their savings,” the Presidency said.
To address these challenges, the Order establishes a Virtual Asset Council, chaired by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), with the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) serving as vice-chairpersons. 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 harmonized legal and institutional framework that aligns the sector with Nigeria’s national security, economic, and social objectives.
The Order also creates a Virtual Asset Office, which will serve as the Council’s operational arm. The office, to be domiciled at the CBN, will coordinate information sharing, applications, and reporting among participating agencies through an integrated supervisory technology platform while allowing each institution to retain control of its own data.
The Presidency stressed that the Executive Order does not create a new regulator or strip existing agencies of their statutory powers. Instead, it establishes a coordinated system in which regulatory responsibilities will be determined by the nature of the asset or activity involved.
Under the framework, virtual assets classified as securities will be regulated by the SEC, while payment, settlement, custody, and related services involving non-security virtual assets will fall under the CBN’s oversight. The Council will resolve jurisdictional disputes where necessary.
The government said the framework closes loopholes that previously allowed unregistered operators to evade regulatory scrutiny.
As part of the reforms, the CBN will roll out a regulatory sandbox for virtual assets, providing a controlled environment where eligible firms can test blockchain-based products and services under regulatory supervision before they are introduced into the broader market.
The sandbox is expected to enable regulators to evaluate potential implications for monetary sovereignty, financial stability, market integrity, consumer protection, financial inclusion, and revenue generation.
The apex bank is expected to announce further details of the initiative.
The Nigerian Revenue Service will also unveil a dedicated tax policy for the virtual assets sector, providing clarity on the application of Nigeria’s tax laws to digital assets, improving voluntary compliance, and ensuring the industry contributes fairly to national revenue.
In addition, the Federal Government is finalizing a comprehensive Virtual Assets White Paper, which will outline Nigeria’s long-term policy direction and implementation roadmap for the sector.
The newly established Virtual Asset Council has been directed to develop a Harmonized Implementation Framework within 30 days to ensure the swift implementation of the Executive Order.
