President Bola Tinubu has signed the Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, 2026, introducing a unified framework to coordinate the regulation of virtual assets across Nigeria.
The Executive Order, which takes immediate effect, establishes a Virtual Asset Council to improve coordination among agencies responsible for regulating digital assets, following concerns over fragmented oversight, regulatory gaps, and the growing risks of fraud, money laundering, terrorism financing, cybersecurity threats, and revenue losses.
Chaired by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the council will include the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as vice-chairpersons, alongside the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA). It will provide policy direction, promote inter-agency collaboration, and work with the Attorney-General of the Federation to develop a harmonised legal framework for the sector.
The Executive Order also establishes a Virtual Asset Office, which will serve as the operational arm of the council. The office, to be domiciled at the CBN, will coordinate information sharing, applications, and reporting among participating agencies through an integrated supervisory technology allowing each regulator to retain control over its data.
According to the Presidency, the framework does not create a new regulator or transfer statutory powers from existing agencies. Instead, it aligns their activities to eliminate regulatory overlaps and close loopholes exploited by unregistered virtual asset operators.
Under the new framework, virtual asset businesses will be regulated based on the nature of their activities. The SEC will continue to oversee virtual assets classified as securities, while the CBN will regulate payment, settlement, custody, and other services involving non-security virtual assets. The council will resolve cases where regulatory responsibility is unclear.
The CBN will launch a regulatory sandbox that will allow eligible companies to test virtual asset products and blockchain-based services under regulatory supervision before they are introduced to the market.
The Nigeria Revenue Service is also expected to release a tax policy for the virtual asset sector to provide clarity on how existing tax laws apply to digital assets and improve compliance as the industry expands.
The Federal Government said it is finalising a Virtual Assets White Paper, which will outline Nigeria’s long-term strategy for the sector. The newly established council has also been directed to develop a harmonised implementation framework within 30 days to guide the rollout of the Executive Order.
The Presidency said the measures are aimed at protecting Nigerians from fraudulent operators, safeguarding the integrity of the financial system, and creating a coordinated regulatory environment that supports innovation in Nigeria’s digital economy.
