President Bola Tinubu has signed the Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, 2026, to harmonise the regulation of virtual assets and strengthen collaboration among financial, revenue and capital market regulators in Nigeria.
The Executive Order, which takes effect immediately, is aimed at protecting citizens from fraud, safeguarding the integrity of the financial system and promoting responsible innovation in the virtual assets sector.
The President signed the Order pursuant to Section 5 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).
According to a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, the Executive Order responds to the growing overlap between virtual assets, currencies, commodities and securities, which has created regulatory gaps and overlapping responsibilities among government agencies.
The statement noted that the fragmented regulatory environment has exposed the country to risks such as money laundering, terrorism financing, cybersecurity and data privacy threats, fraud and revenue losses.
It added that unregistered and fraudulent operators have exploited these gaps, causing significant financial losses to many Nigerians.
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, promote inter-agency collaboration 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 Order also establishes a Virtual Asset Office, which will serve as the operational arm of the Council, with its secretariat domiciled at the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The Office will coordinate information sharing, applications and reporting among participating agencies through an integrated supervisory technology platform, while allowing each agency to retain ownership and control of its data.
The statement stressed that the Executive Order does not create a new regulator or transfer statutory powers from existing institutions. Instead, it provides a coordinated framework that enables agencies to carry out their responsibilities more effectively.
Under the new framework, the registration of virtual asset operators will depend on the nature of the assets and services they provide. Activities involving securities will be regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, while payment, settlement, custody and related services involving non-security virtual assets will be supervised by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The Virtual Asset Council is expected to resolve any jurisdictional disputes.
As part of the implementation, the Central Bank of Nigeria will launch a regulatory sandbox to enable eligible operators to test virtual asset products, services and blockchain-based solutions in a controlled environment under regulatory supervision.
The Nigerian Revenue Service is also expected to release a tax policy for the virtual assets sector to provide greater clarity on the application of tax laws, encourage voluntary compliance and ensure the industry contributes to national revenue.
Furthermore, the statement added that the Federal Government is finalising a comprehensive Virtual Assets White Paper, which will outline the country’s long-term policy direction and implementation priorities for the sector.
The Executive Order directs the Virtual Asset Council to develop a Harmonised Implementation Framework within 30 days to guide participating agencies and facilitate the effective implementation of the new regulatory framework
