President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has signed an Executive Order establishing a new framework to coordinate the regulation of virtual assets in Nigeria, in a major move aimed at tackling fraud, money laundering, terrorism financing and other financial crimes while promoting responsible innovation in the country’s digital economy.
The Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, 2026, which takes immediate effect, creates a Virtual Asset Council to harmonise oversight among key financial, revenue and security agencies without creating a new regulator or diminishing the powers of existing institutions.
The Presidency said the order responds to the rapid growth of virtual assets, whose evolving nature has blurred the traditional boundaries between currencies, commodities, securities and payment systems, resulting in fragmented regulation and exposing Nigerians to fraudulent operators.
According to the Presidency, regulatory gaps have allowed unregistered operators to exploit unsuspecting investors, causing many Nigerians to lose their savings while exposing the financial system to risks such as money laundering, terrorism financing, cybersecurity threats, data privacy breaches and revenue losses.
The newly established Virtual Asset Council will be chaired by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), with the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) serving as vice-chairmen. Other members include the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
The Council will coordinate policy, strengthen collaboration among participating agencies and work with the Attorney-General of the Federation to develop a harmonised legal and institutional framework aligned with Nigeria’s economic, security and social objectives.
The Executive Order also establishes a Virtual Asset Office, to be headquartered at the CBN, to coordinate information sharing, regulatory applications and reporting through an integrated supervisory technology platform while allowing each agency to retain ownership and control of its data.
The Presidency stressed that the Order neither establishes a new regulator nor transfers statutory powers from existing agencies. Instead, regulatory responsibilities will continue to depend on the nature of each virtual asset activity. Securities-related activities will remain under the SEC, while the CBN will regulate payment, settlement, custody and other services involving non-security virtual assets. The Council will resolve jurisdictional disputes where necessary.
As part of the new framework, the CBN will launch a regulatory sandbox that will allow approved operators to test virtual asset products and blockchain-based solutions under close regulatory supervision before they are introduced into the wider market.
The Nigerian Revenue Service will also unveil a tax policy for the virtual assets sector to provide clarity for taxpayers and service providers, improve compliance and ensure the fast-growing industry contributes fairly to national revenue.
In addition, the Federal Government is finalising a comprehensive Virtual Assets White Paper to outline Nigeria’s long-term policy direction and implementation roadmap for the sector.
President Tinubu has directed the newly established Council to produce a Harmonised Implementation Framework within 30 days to facilitate the swift execution of the Executive Order.
The President signed the Order pursuant to Section 5 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).
