President Bola Tinubu has signed the Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, 2026, introducing a unified framework to regulate virtual assets in Nigeria while promoting innovation, strengthening oversight and protecting the country’s financial system.
The Executive Order, which takes immediate effect, aims to improve collaboration among financial, revenue and capital market regulators in response to the rapid growth of virtual assets and the challenges posed by fragmented regulation.
According to the Presidency, the new framework is designed to address issues such as fraud, money laundering, terrorism financing, cybersecurity risks, data privacy concerns and revenue losses, without creating an additional regulatory agency or altering the statutory powers of existing institutions.
As part of the initiative, a Virtual Asset Council has been established and 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-chairpersons, alongside representatives from the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
The Council will coordinate policy, improve cooperation among relevant agencies and work toward developing a harmonised legal framework for Nigeria’s virtual assets sector in line with national economic and security objectives.
The Executive Order also creates a Virtual Asset Office, which will operate from the CBN and oversee information sharing, applications and reporting among participating agencies through an integrated supervisory technology platform.
Under the framework, regulatory responsibilities will remain with existing agencies based on the nature of each virtual asset activity. Securities-related services will continue to fall under the SEC, while payment, settlement, custody and other non-security virtual asset services will be regulated by the CBN.
In addition, the CBN will introduce a regulatory sandbox to allow eligible operators to test virtual asset products and blockchain-based solutions under close supervision before they are made available to the public.
The Nigeria Revenue Service is also expected to unveil a tax policy for the virtual assets sector to provide greater clarity for taxpayers, improve compliance and ensure the industry contributes to national revenue.
The Federal Government further disclosed that work is nearing completion on a comprehensive Virtual Assets White Paper, which will outline Nigeria’s long-term strategy for the sector.
The newly established Council has been directed to develop a Harmonised Implementation Framework within 30 days to facilitate the effective implementation of the Executive Order.
