President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has signed the Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, 2026, establishing a coordinated regulatory framework for virtual assets and creating a Virtual Asset Council to strengthen oversight, protect investors and support responsible innovation in Nigeria’s digital economy.
The Executive Order, signed pursuant to Section 5 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), takes immediate effect.
According to the Federal Government, the Order is aimed at harmonising the regulation of virtual assets, strengthening collaboration among financial, revenue and capital market regulators, protecting Nigerians from fraud and safeguarding the integrity of the country’s financial system.
The government said the initiative responds to a fragmented regulatory environment where virtual assets increasingly blur the boundaries between currencies, money, commodities and securities, creating gaps that have exposed the country to money laundering, terrorism financing, cybercrime, data privacy breaches, fraud and revenue losses.
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-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, promote inter-agency cooperation and work with the Attorney-General of the Federation to develop a harmonised legal and institutional framework aligned with Nigeria’s national security, economic and social objectives.
The Executive Order also creates a Virtual Asset Office, with its secretariat domiciled at the CBN, to coordinate information sharing, applications and reporting among participating agencies through an integrated supervisory technology platform.
The Federal Government clarified that the Order does not establish a new regulator or transfer statutory powers from existing agencies. Instead, it coordinates the responsibilities of relevant institutions while allowing each agency to retain its legal mandate and operational independence.
Under the framework, the Securities and Exchange Commission will regulate virtual assets classified as securities, while the Central Bank of Nigeria will oversee payment, settlement, custody and related services involving non-security virtual assets. The Council will resolve any jurisdictional disputes where regulatory responsibility is unclear.
As part of the new framework, the CBN will introduce a regulatory sandbox that will allow eligible operators to test virtual asset products, blockchain-based services and other innovations under close regulatory supervision before they are introduced into the wider market.
The Nigeria Revenue Service will also unveil a tax policy for the virtual assets sector to provide greater certainty for taxpayers, strengthen compliance and ensure the industry contributes fairly to national revenue.
Also, 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 has directed the newly established Virtual Asset Council to develop a Harmonised Implementation Framework within 30 days to ensure the effective and timely implementation of the Executive Order.
