President Bola Tinubu has signed a new Executive Order to bring together the regulation of virtual assets in Nigeria, setting up a Virtual Asset Council to improve coordination among government agencies, strengthen oversight and support the growth of the country's digital economy.
The development was announced on Friday in a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
The statement said the Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, 2026, takes immediate effect.
According to the Presidency, the order was issued under Section 5 of the 1999 Constitution as amended to address regulatory gaps caused by different agencies overseeing various parts of the virtual assets sector.
It noted that virtual assets now cover areas linked to currencies, money, commodities and securities, making a coordinated approach necessary.
The government said the lack of a unified regulatory system had exposed Nigeria to risks such as money laundering, terrorism financing, cybercrime, fraud and revenue losses.
It added that the new framework is expected to protect Nigerians from fraudulent operators while encouraging lawful innovation in the digital assets industry.
Under the Executive Order, a Virtual Asset Council has been created with the Central Bank of Nigeria serving as chairman.
The Nigeria Revenue Service and the Securities and Exchange Commission will serve as vice-chairmen, while the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit and the Office of the National Security Adviser are among the members.
The council will provide policy direction, improve cooperation among participating agencies and work with the Attorney-General of the Federation to develop a unified legal and institutional framework for regulating virtual assets in Nigeria.
The order also establishes a Virtual Asset Office as the operational arm of the council.
The office, which will have its secretariat at the Central Bank of Nigeria, will coordinate information sharing, applications and reporting through an integrated supervisory technology platform.
Each participating agency will continue to exercise its existing legal powers and retain control of its data.
The Presidency stated that the Executive Order does not create a new regulatory agency or remove the statutory powers of existing institutions.
Instead, it provides a coordination system aimed at improving the efficiency of regulation across the sector.
The framework assigns regulatory duties according to the type of virtual asset service involved.
The Securities and Exchange Commission will oversee activities related to securities, while the Central Bank of Nigeria will regulate payment, settlement, custody and other services involving non-security virtual assets.
The council will decide cases where regulatory responsibility is unclear.
The Presidency also disclosed that the Central Bank is developing a regulatory sandbox where qualified operators can test blockchain-based products and services under supervision before they are introduced into the market.
The initiative is expected to help regulators assess issues relating to financial stability, consumer protection, financial inclusion, market integrity and revenue administration.
In addition, the Nigeria Revenue Service is preparing a tax policy for the virtual assets sector to provide guidance for taxpayers and service providers while ensuring the industry contributes to government revenue.
The Federal Government is also completing a comprehensive Virtual Assets White Paper that will set out Nigeria's long-term policy direction and implementation plans for the sector.
The newly established Virtual Asset Council has been directed to produce a Harmonised Implementation Framework within 30 days to guide the execution of the Executive Order.
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