President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, has signed the Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, 2026, marking a significant step toward strengthening the regulation of Nigeria’s virtual assets ecosystem. The Executive Order harmonises oversight of virtual assets, enhances collaboration among financial, revenue and capital market regulators, protects citizens from fraud, safeguards the integrity of the financial system, and promotes responsible innovation in the digital economy.
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed this in a State House press release issued on Friday, July 17, 2026. He explained that the President signed the Executive Order pursuant to Section 5 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), and that the directive takes immediate effect.
According to the statement, the Executive Order addresses the increasingly fragmented regulatory landscape as virtual assets continue to blur the traditional distinctions between currencies, money, commodities and securities. The lack of coordination among relevant agencies has created regulatory overlaps and gaps, exposing the country to risks such as money laundering, terrorism financing, cybersecurity threats, data privacy breaches, fraud and revenue losses. Unregistered and fraudulent operators have also exploited these weaknesses, causing significant financial losses to unsuspecting Nigerians.
To address these challenges, the Executive 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-chairpersons. Other members include the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
The Council will provide strategic policy direction, strengthen inter-agency cooperation, and work with the Attorney-General of the Federation to develop a harmonised legal and institutional framework that aligns Nigeria’s virtual assets sector with national security, economic growth and social development objectives.
The Executive Order also creates a Virtual Asset Office, which will serve as the Council’s operational arm. The Office, with its secretariat domiciled at the CBN, will coordinate information sharing, application processing and reporting among participating agencies through an integrated supervisory technology platform that preserves each institution’s ownership and control of its data.
Importantly, the Order does not establish a new regulator or transfer statutory powers between existing agencies. Instead, each institution retains its legal mandate while operating within a coordinated framework. Under the new arrangement, securities-related virtual asset activities will be regulated by the SEC, while the CBN will oversee payment, settlement, custody and related services involving non-security virtual assets. Where jurisdiction is unclear, the Council will determine the appropriate regulatory authority.
As part of the coordinated framework, the CBN will launch a regulatory sandbox for virtual assets, providing a controlled environment where eligible operators can test blockchain-based products and services under close regulatory supervision. The initiative will enable regulators to evaluate potential impacts on monetary policy, financial stability, market integrity, consumer protection, financial inclusion and revenue administration before wider market deployment.
Similarly, the Nigeria Revenue Service will introduce a dedicated tax policy for the virtual assets sector to clarify the application of existing tax laws, encourage voluntary compliance and ensure that the sector contributes fairly to national revenue.
The Federal Government is also finalising a comprehensive Virtual Assets White Paper, which will outline Nigeria’s long-term policy direction and implementation priorities for the sector while serving as a strategic roadmap for stakeholders.
To ensure swift implementation, President Tinubu has directed the newly established Council to produce a Harmonised Implementation Framework within 30 days to guide participating agencies in executing the provisions of the Executive Order effectively.