President Bola Tinubu has signed the Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, 2026, establishing a unified framework to regulate virtual assets and strengthen Nigeria’s digital economy.
The President signed the order pursuant to Section 5 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), and it took effect immediately, according to a statement issued Friday by presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga.
The statement explained that the order was designed to address a fragmented regulatory landscape, where overlapping and disjointed oversight by government agencies had exposed Nigerians to risks such as money laundering, terrorism financing, cybersecurity threats, fraud and revenue losses. It noted that unregistered operators had exploited these gaps in the past to defraud unsuspecting citizens.
To close these loopholes, 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) serving as vice-chairs. Other members include the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
The Council will set policy direction, foster cooperation among the agencies, and collaborate with the Attorney-General of the Federation to build a harmonised legal and institutional framework for the sector.
A Virtual Asset Office will also be created as the Council’s operational arm, with its secretariat based at the CBN. The office will coordinate information sharing, applications and reporting among agencies through an integrated supervisory technology platform.
The statement clarified that the order does not create a new regulator or strip any agency of its existing powers. Instead, registration of virtual asset activities will be determined by the nature of the asset involved — the SEC will register security-related activities, while the CBN will handle payment, settlement, custody and other non-security virtual asset services. The Council will resolve any disputes over jurisdiction.
As part of the coordinated approach, the CBN is proceeding with a regulatory sandbox that will allow eligible operators to test virtual asset products and blockchain-based solutions under close supervision before they reach the wider market.
The NRS is also expected to release a tax policy for the virtual assets sector to strengthen compliance and ensure the industry contributes fairly to national revenue.
Additionally, the Federal Government is finalising a Virtual Assets White Paper that will outline the country’s long-term policy direction for the sector.
The Council has been given 30 days to develop a Harmonised Implementation Framework to guide agencies in enforcing the order.
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