President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has signed the Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, 2026, establishing a coordinated regulatory framework to strengthen oversight of Nigeria’s virtual assets sector, tackle financial crimes and promote responsible innovation in the digital economy.
Signed on Friday, July 17, 2026, the Executive Order took immediate effect and was issued pursuant to Section 5 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).
It is aimed at improving collaboration among financial, capital market, revenue and security agencies without changing their existing statutory powers.
The Presidency said the move addresses regulatory gaps created by the rapid growth of virtual assets, which now cut across traditional categories such as currencies, securities, commodities and payment systems.
It said fragmented oversight had exposed the country to risks including money laundering, terrorism financing, cyber threats, fraud, data privacy breaches and revenue losses.
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-chairpersons. Other members are the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
The Council will coordinate policy, strengthen cooperation among agencies and work with the Attorney-General of the Federation to develop a harmonized legal and institutional framework for the sector.
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The Executive Order also creates a Virtual Asset Office, domiciled at the CBN, to serve as the Council’s operational arm.
The office will coordinate information sharing, regulatory applications and reporting through an integrated supervisory technology platform while preserving the independence and statutory roles of participating agencies.
Under the framework, the SEC will continue to oversee virtual assets classified as securities, while the CBN will regulate payment, settlement, custody and related services involving non-security virtual assets. The Council will resolve any jurisdictional disputes among regulators.
As part of the reforms, the CBN will introduce a regulatory sandbox to allow eligible firms test virtual asset products, blockchain solutions and other digital innovations under regulatory supervision before wider deployment.
The initiative will help authorities assess the impact of emerging technologies on financial stability, consumer protection, market integrity, financial inclusion, monetary policy and revenue administration.
The Nigeria Revenue Service will also release a tax policy for the virtual assets sector to clarify tax obligations, promote compliance and ensure the industry contributes to national revenue.
The Federal Government is equally finalizing a Virtual Assets White Paper to set out Nigeria’s long-term policy direction for the sector.
President Tinubu has directed the Virtual Asset Council to develop a Harmonized Implementation Framework within 30 days to guide agencies in implementing the new regulatory structure.