By Osaretin Osadebamwen
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, has signed the Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, 2026, in a move aimed at strengthening the regulation of Nigeria’s rapidly growing virtual assets sector. The directive seeks to improve coordination among regulatory agencies while promoting responsible innovation in the country’s digital financial ecosystem.
The Executive Order, signed pursuant to Section 5 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), takes immediate effect. It provides a unified framework for agencies responsible for overseeing virtual assets and related financial activities across the country.
According to the Presidency, the Order is intended to harmonise the regulation of virtual assets by enhancing cooperation among financial, revenue, and capital market institutions. It also aims to protect investors and consumers from fraud while preserving the integrity, stability, and transparency of Nigeria’s financial system.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President, Bayo Onanuga.
According to the statement, the government noted that the rapid evolution of virtual assets has blurred the traditional distinctions between currencies, money, commodities, and securities. This development has created regulatory challenges, with multiple agencies exercising overlapping responsibilities while leaving critical gaps in oversight.
Officials explained that the fragmented regulatory environment has exposed Nigeria to several financial and security risks. These include money laundering, terrorism financing, cybercrime, data privacy breaches, fraudulent investment schemes, and significant revenue losses to the government.
The Presidency further observed that unregistered and fraudulent operators have exploited these regulatory loopholes to defraud unsuspecting Nigerians, leading to the loss of savings and investments by many individuals and families. The new Executive Order is expected to strengthen inter-agency collaboration to prevent such abuses and improve enforcement.
While reinforcing regulatory coordination, the Executive Order does not create new regulatory agencies or impose additional layers of bureaucracy. Instead, it aligns the mandates of existing institutions, ensuring they work together more effectively to safeguard the financial system, protect citizens, and support the growth of Nigeria’s digital economy.
Too often, unregistered and fraudulent operators have exploited these gaps to prey on unsuspecting Nigerians, costing families their savings. To achieve this, 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) as vice-chairs, and comprising the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
The Council will provide policy direction, promote synergy among the participating agencies, and work with the Attorney-General of the Federation to develop a harmonised legal and institutional framework that aligns the sector with Nigeria’s national security, economic and social objectives. The Order also establishes a Virtual Asset Office, the Council’s operational body, with its secretariat domiciled at the CBN.
The Office will be responsible for the day-to-day coordination of information sharing, applications, and reporting among the agencies, supported by an integrated supervisory technology platform that provides shared visibility while preserving each agency’s ownership and control of its data.
Significantly, the Order does not create a new regulator or transfer powers between agencies. Each institution retains its full statutory mandate and independence, and the framework coordinates their work rather than replacing it.
To provide certainty for operators and protection for the public, registration will follow the nature of the activity and the asset involved: activities like securities will be registered by the SEC, while payment, settlement, custody and related services involving non-security virtual assets will be registered by the CBN, with the Council resolving any case in which responsibility cannot be readily determined.
This closes the gaps through which unregistered operators have previously escaped oversight. As part of the coordinated approach, the Central Bank of Nigeria is proceeding with a regulatory sandbox for virtual assets.
The sandbox will provide a controlled environment in which eligible operators can test and operate virtual asset products, services, and blockchain-based solutions under close supervision, enabling the participating agencies to assess the implications for monetary sovereignty, financial stability, market integrity, consumer protection, financial inclusion, and revenue administration before products reach the wider market.
The CBN will announce further details of the sandbox. In the same spirit, the Nigerian Revenue Service will release a tax policy for the virtual assets sector.
Nigeria’s tax laws apply to virtual assets, giving both taxpayers and digital asset service providers greater certainty about their tax obligations. According to the government, the framework is designed to encourage voluntary compliance while ensuring that the rapidly growing virtual assets sector contributes its fair share to the country’s revenue.
The policy also complements the newly introduced coordination framework by aligning tax administration with the responsibilities of other regulatory agencies overseeing the virtual assets ecosystem. Officials said the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) will issue additional guidelines to clarify implementation, while the government is putting the finishing touches on a comprehensive Virtual Assets White Paper that will outline Nigeria’s long-term strategy, policy direction, and implementation priorities for the sector.
To ensure the reforms are implemented without delay, the government has directed the newly established Council to develop a Harmonised Implementation Framework within 30 days. The framework is expected to serve as a practical guide for all participating agencies, helping them work together effectively in enforcing the Executive Order and supporting the orderly growth of Nigeria’s virtual assets industry.
