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 digital economy.
The Executive Order, which takes immediate effect, creates a Virtual Asset Council to coordinate the activities of key financial, regulatory, security and revenue agencies. The initiative is aimed at protecting investors, combating fraud, money laundering and terrorism financing, improving revenue collection and supporting responsible innovation in the virtual assets sector.
According to a statement issued by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the Order was signed under Section 5 of the 1999 Constitution to address regulatory fragmentation caused by the rapid growth of virtual assets across payment systems, securities, commodities and digital currencies.
The Presidency said the lack of coordinated oversight had created loopholes exploited by fraudulent and unregistered operators, exposing Nigerians to financial losses, cybersecurity threats and data privacy risks.
Under the new framework, the Virtual Asset Council will be chaired by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), while the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will serve 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 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.
The Executive Order also establishes a Virtual Asset Office, which will serve as the operational arm of the Council. The office, with its secretariat located at the CBN, will coordinate information sharing, regulatory reporting and supervision through an integrated technology platform while allowing participating agencies to retain control of their respective data.
The Presidency clarified that the Executive Order does not create a new regulator or remove the statutory responsibilities of existing agencies. Instead, regulatory oversight will continue to depend on the nature of the virtual asset or service involved.
Virtual assets classified as securities will remain under the jurisdiction of the SEC, while payment, settlement, custody and other non-security virtual asset services will continue to be regulated by the CBN. The Council will resolve cases where regulatory jurisdiction is unclear.
As part of the reforms, the CBN will establish a regulatory sandbox to enable eligible operators to test blockchain technologies, virtual asset products and related services under regulatory supervision before they are introduced into the wider market.
The Federal Government said the initiative would help regulators assess the impact of emerging technologies on financial stability, consumer protection, financial inclusion, market integrity, monetary policy and revenue generation.
The Nigeria Revenue Service is also expected to introduce a dedicated tax policy for the virtual assets industry to provide clarity on the application of existing tax laws, improve voluntary compliance and enhance government revenue.
In addition, the Federal Government disclosed that work is at an advanced stage on a comprehensive Virtual Assets White Paper, which will outline Nigeria’s long-term policy direction and implementation roadmap for the sector.
President Tinubu has directed the newly established Virtual Asset Council to produce a Harmonised Implementation Framework within 30 days to facilitate the swift implementation of the Executive Order.
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