President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has signed the Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, 2026, establishing a new inter-agency framework to harmonise the regulation of virtual assets and strengthen oversight of Nigeria’s growing digital economy.
The Executive Order, which takes immediate effect, creates a Virtual Asset Council to coordinate the activities of key financial, regulatory, revenue and security agencies. The initiative is aimed at protecting investors, tackling money laundering and terrorism financing, improving government revenue collection and promoting responsible innovation within the virtual assets ecosystem.
According to a statement issued on Friday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the Executive Order was signed pursuant to Section 5 of the 1999 Constitution to address regulatory fragmentation as virtual assets increasingly span currencies, securities, commodities and payment systems.
The Presidency said the absence of a coordinated regulatory framework had created loopholes exploited by fraudulent and unregistered operators, exposing Nigerians to financial losses, cyber threats, data privacy risks and other criminal activities.
To strengthen oversight, the Order establishes the Virtual Asset Council, which will be chaired by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will serve as vice-chairmen, while the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) are among the members.
The Council will provide policy direction, enhance collaboration among participating agencies and work with the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation to develop a harmonised legal and institutional framework for the sector in line with Nigeria’s economic, security and social objectives.
The Executive Order also establishes a Virtual Asset Office as the operational arm of the Council, with its secretariat to be domiciled at the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The office will coordinate information sharing, applications and regulatory reporting through an integrated supervisory technology platform, while allowing participating agencies to retain ownership and control of their respective data.
The Presidency clarified that the Executive Order does not create a new regulator or diminish the statutory powers of existing agencies. Instead, regulatory oversight will continue to depend on the nature of the virtual asset or service involved.
Under the framework, digital assets classified as securities will remain under the jurisdiction of the Securities and Exchange Commission, while payment, settlement, custody and other non-security virtual asset services will be regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria. The Council will determine responsibility in cases where regulatory jurisdiction overlaps or is unclear.
The Federal Government said the framework is intended to close regulatory gaps that previously enabled unregistered operators to evade supervision.
As part of the new regulatory regime, the Central Bank will establish a regulatory sandbox that will allow eligible operators to test virtual asset products, blockchain technologies and related services in a controlled environment before they are introduced into the wider market.
According to the Presidency, the sandbox will enable regulators to evaluate the impact of emerging technologies on monetary sovereignty, financial stability, consumer protection, market integrity, financial inclusion and revenue administration. The CBN is expected to issue operational guidelines for the initiative.
The Nigeria Revenue Service is also expected to introduce a dedicated tax policy for the virtual assets industry to clarify the application of existing tax laws to digital assets, improve voluntary tax compliance and ensure the sector contributes appropriately to national revenue.
The statement further disclosed that the Federal Government is finalising a comprehensive Virtual Assets White Paper, which will outline Nigeria’s long-term policy direction, implementation priorities and development roadmap for stakeholders across the industry.
President Tinubu directed the newly established Virtual Asset Council to produce a Harmonised Implementation Framework within 30 days to guide participating agencies and facilitate the effective implementation of the Executive Order.
