President Bola Tinubu has signed the Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, 2026, to strengthen regulation of Nigeria’s virtual assets sector through improved collaboration among financial, security and regulatory agencies.
The order, which takes immediate effect, seeks to protect Nigerians from fraud, close regulatory gaps, safeguard the integrity of the financial system and promote responsible innovation in the country’s digital economy.
The President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, disclosed this in a statement issued on Friday in Abuja.
According to the statement, the order was signed pursuant to Section 5 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
The Presidency said the rapid expansion of virtual assets had created regulatory challenges because such activities cut across traditional sectors, including currencies, securities, commodities and payment systems.
It noted that fragmented regulation had exposed the country to risks such as money laundering, terrorism financing, cybercrime, data privacy breaches, fraud and revenue losses.
To address the challenges, the order establishes a Virtual Asset Council, to be 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 of the council include the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
The council is expected to provide policy direction, strengthen inter-agency collaboration and work with the Attorney-General of the Federation to develop a harmonised legal and institutional framework for the sector.
The Executive Order also creates a Virtual Asset Office, which will serve as the operational arm of the council.
The office, with its secretariat domiciled at the CBN, will coordinate information sharing, applications and regulatory reporting through an integrated supervisory technology platform.
The Presidency clarified that the Executive Order does not establish a new regulatory agency or alter the statutory responsibilities of existing institutions.
Rather, it provides a coordinated framework that enables relevant agencies to discharge their respective mandates more effectively.
Under the new arrangement, virtual assets classified as securities will remain under the oversight of the SEC, while payment, settlement, custody and other non-security virtual asset services will be regulated by the CBN.
Where regulatory jurisdiction is unclear, the council will determine the appropriate supervising authority.
As part of the implementation, the CBN will establish a regulatory sandbox to allow eligible operators test blockchain-based products, virtual asset services and other innovative financial technologies in a controlled environment before wider deployment.
According to the Presidency, the sandbox will help regulators assess the impact of emerging technologies on financial stability, consumer protection, market integrity, monetary policy and financial inclusion.
The Nigeria Revenue Service is also expected to issue a tax policy for the virtual assets industry to provide clarity on taxation and improve voluntary compliance.
In addition, the Federal Government is finalising a comprehensive Virtual Assets White Paper to outline Nigeria’s long-term policy direction and implementation priorities for the sector.
The Presidency said the newly inaugurated Virtual Asset Council had been directed to develop a Harmonised Implementation Framework within 30 days to facilitate the effective implementation of the Executive Order.
