President Bola Tinubu has signed an executive order establishing a coordinated regulatory framework for Nigeria’s fast-growing virtual asset sector, marking the government’s most comprehensive effort yet to bring digital assets under unified oversight while encouraging innovation.
The Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, 2026, took immediate effect after being signed under Section 5 of the 1999 Constitution. The government says the measure is designed to eliminate regulatory overlaps, strengthen investor protection and tackle financial crimes linked to digital assets.
Announcing the development on Friday, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the order responds to the increasingly complex nature of virtual assets, which fall across the responsibilities of multiple financial, revenue and capital market regulators.
According to the presidency, the absence of coordinated supervision has left gaps that have been exploited by fraudulent operators, exposing Nigeria to money laundering, terrorism financing, cyber threats, data privacy breaches, fraud and significant revenue losses.
“Too often, unregistered and fraudulent operators have exploited these gaps to prey on unsuspecting Nigerians, costing families their savings,” Onanuga said.
At the heart of the reforms is the creation of a Virtual Asset Council, chaired by the Central Bank of Nigeria, with the Nigeria Revenue Service and the Securities and Exchange Commission serving as vice-chairmen. The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit and the Office of the National Security Adviser will also sit on the council.
The body will be responsible for setting policy direction, coordinating regulatory activities across participating agencies and working with the Attorney General of the Federation to develop a harmonised legal and institutional framework for the sector.
The executive order also establishes a Virtual Asset Office, to be housed within the Central Bank of Nigeria, as the council’s operational secretariat. The office will coordinate information-sharing, process applications and facilitate reporting among regulators through an integrated supervisory technology platform.
The presidency sought to reassure market participants that the reforms would not create a new regulator or dilute the statutory powers of existing agencies.
“The Executive Order does not create a new regulator or transfer powers between agencies. Each institution retains its full statutory mandate and independence,” Onanuga said, adding that regulatory responsibilities would continue to depend on the nature of the virtual asset or service involved.
Under the framework, virtual assets classified as securities will remain under the oversight of the Securities and Exchange Commission, while payment, settlement, custody and other non-security virtual asset services will continue to be supervised by the Central Bank. Where jurisdiction is disputed, the council will determine the appropriate regulator.
As part of the reforms, the Central Bank will establish a regulatory sandbox enabling eligible firms to test blockchain-based products, virtual asset services and related technologies under official supervision before they enter the broader market.
The government said the initiative would allow regulators to assess the implications of emerging technologies for financial stability, monetary policy, consumer protection, financial inclusion and public revenue before wider deployment.
In a parallel move, the Nigeria Revenue Service is expected to publish a dedicated tax policy for the virtual asset industry, providing greater certainty on how existing tax laws apply to digital asset transactions while encouraging voluntary compliance and expanding government revenues.
The presidency also disclosed that work was nearing completion on a comprehensive Virtual Assets White Paper, which will set out Nigeria’s long-term strategy for regulating and developing the digital asset ecosystem.
The newly established Virtual Asset Council has been given 30 days to produce a harmonised implementation framework to guide participating agencies in enforcing the executive order, signalling the government’s intention to move quickly from policy announcement to execution.
