President Bola Tinubu has signed the Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, 2026, establishing a new framework to harmonise the regulation of virtual assets in Nigeria, strengthen inter-agency collaboration and protect citizens from fraud while supporting innovation in the digital economy.
The Executive Order, signed pursuant to Section 5 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), takes immediate effect.
According to a statement issued on Friday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the Order seeks to address regulatory gaps created by the rapid growth of virtual assets, which increasingly cut across the traditional boundaries of currencies, securities, commodities and payment systems.
The Presidency said the fragmented nature of regulation had exposed the country to risks such as money laundering, terrorism financing, cybercrime, data privacy breaches, fraud and revenue losses, with unregistered operators exploiting the gaps to defraud unsuspecting Nigerians.
To strengthen oversight, the Executive Order establishes a Virtual Asset Council, to 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-chairpersons. Other members include the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
The Council will provide policy direction, coordinate regulatory activities 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 Order also creates a Virtual Asset Office, which will serve as the Council’s operational arm. The office, to be headquartered at the CBN, will coordinate information sharing, applications and reporting among agencies through an integrated supervisory technology platform while allowing each institution to retain ownership and control of its data.
The Presidency stressed that the Executive Order does not establish a new regulator or remove the statutory powers of existing agencies. Instead, it provides a coordinated framework under which operators will register based on the nature of their activities.
Under the arrangement, virtual asset activities classified as securities will be regulated by the SEC, while payment, settlement, custody and related services involving non-security virtual assets will fall under the supervision of the CBN. The Virtual Asset Council will resolve cases where regulatory responsibility is unclear.
As part of the reforms, the CBN will launch a regulatory sandbox to allow eligible firms to test virtual asset products, blockchain-based services and other innovations in a controlled environment before wider deployment. The initiative is expected to help regulators assess the impact of emerging technologies on monetary policy, financial stability, consumer protection, financial inclusion and market integrity.
The apex bank is expected to release further details of the sandbox in due course.
Similarly, the Nigeria Revenue Service will unveil a tax policy for the virtual assets sector to provide clarity on the application of Nigeria’s tax laws, encourage voluntary compliance and ensure the growing industry contributes to national revenue.
The Federal Government also disclosed that it is finalising a comprehensive Virtual Assets White Paper, which will outline Nigeria’s long-term policy direction and implementation roadmap for the sector.
President Tinubu directed the newly established Council to develop a Harmonised Implementation Framework within 30 days to facilitate the swift implementation of the Executive Order.