President Bola Tinubu has signed the Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, 2026, aimed at harmonising the regulation of virtual assets and strengthening collaboration among Nigeria’s financial, revenue, and capital market agencies.
The Executive Order, signed pursuant to Section 5 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), takes immediate effect and is designed to protect citizens from fraud, safeguard the integrity of the financial system, and promote responsible innovation in the virtual assets sector.
In a statement issued on Friday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the Presidency said the Order was introduced in response to the increasingly fragmented regulation of virtual assets, which now cut across currencies, money, commodities, and securities.
According to the statement, “With relevant agencies operating in silos, overlapping in some areas and leaving gaps in others, the country has been exposed to risks, including money laundering, terrorism financing, cybersecurity and data privacy threats, fraud, and revenue losses.”
It added that “Too often, unregistered and fraudulent operators have exploited these gaps to prey on unsuspecting Nigerians, costing families their savings.”
The Presidency explained that the Executive Order is intended to close those regulatory gaps through coordinated supervision without creating additional layers of regulation or taking away the statutory responsibilities of existing agencies.
To achieve this, the Order establishes a Virtual Asset Council, chaired by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), with the Nigerian 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).
According to the statement, the Council will provide policy direction, promote collaboration among 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 creates a Virtual Asset Office, which will serve as the Council’s operational arm, with its secretariat located at the CBN.
The Office will coordinate information sharing, applications, and reporting among participating agencies through an integrated supervisory technology platform, while allowing each institution to retain ownership and control of its data.
The Presidency stressed that the Order does not establish a new regulator or transfer powers from one agency to another, noting that all participating institutions will continue to exercise their existing statutory mandates independently.
To provide clarity for operators and improve consumer protection, the statement said registration will depend on the nature of the asset or service involved. Securities-related virtual assets will be regulated by the SEC, while payment, settlement, custody, and other non-security virtual asset services will fall under the CBN. The Virtual Asset Council will determine jurisdiction in cases where responsibility is unclear.
“This closes the gaps through which unregistered operators have previously escaped oversight,” the statement said.
The Presidency also announced that the CBN will proceed with a regulatory sandbox for virtual assets, providing a controlled environment where eligible operators can test virtual asset products, services, and blockchain-based solutions under regulatory supervision before they are introduced into the wider market.
According to the statement, the sandbox will enable regulators to assess the impact of new innovations on monetary sovereignty, financial stability, market integrity, consumer protection, financial inclusion, and revenue generation.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Revenue Service is expected to release a tax policy for the virtual assets sector, providing clarity on how existing tax laws apply to virtual assets, strengthening voluntary compliance, and ensuring the sector contributes fairly to national revenue.
The Presidency also disclosed that the Federal Government is finalising a comprehensive Virtual Assets White Paper, which will outline Nigeria’s long-term policy direction and implementation priorities for the sector.
It added that the newly established Virtual Asset Council has been directed to develop a Harmonised Implementation Framework within 30 days to guide participating agencies and ensure the swift implementation of the Executive Order.
