President Bola Tinubu has signed the Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, 2026, introducing a unified regulatory framework for Nigeria’s virtual assets industry and establishing a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)-led council to coordinate oversight across relevant government agencies.
The Executive Order, which takes immediate effect, is designed to address regulatory overlaps and close existing gaps in the supervision of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets while supporting innovation and strengthening investor protection.
Under the new framework, a Virtual Asset Council will serve as the apex coordinating body. The council will be chaired by the 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).
According to the Presidency, the initiative seeks to harmonise the regulation of virtual assets across financial, capital market and revenue authorities, while reducing risks associated with money laundering, terrorism financing, cybercrime, fraud and revenue leakages.
The Order also creates a Virtual Asset Office, which will function as the council’s operational arm. The office, to be headquartered at the CBN, will coordinate information sharing, licensing processes and reporting among participating agencies through an integrated supervisory technology platform while allowing each regulator to retain control of its own data.
Under the new arrangement, regulatory responsibilities will depend on the nature of the asset or activity. The SEC will continue to register and supervise virtual assets classified as securities, while the CBN will oversee payment, settlement, custody and related services involving non-security digital assets. The council will resolve any jurisdictional disputes between regulators.
As part of the reforms, the CBN is also moving ahead with a regulatory sandbox for virtual assets, aimed at allowing innovative financial technology firms to test products under regulatory supervision before wider market deployment.
The Presidency said the Executive Order does not create additional layers of regulation or replace the statutory responsibilities of existing agencies. Instead, it is intended to improve coordination, provide regulatory certainty for operators and enhance public confidence in Nigeria’s rapidly expanding digital assets ecosystem.
