Nigerian President Bola Tinubu signed the Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, 2026 on Friday, July 17, 2026 (effective immediately), creating a coordinated framework for cryptocurrency, tokenised assets, stablecoins, and other digital assets without establishing a new regulator.
Disclosed by: Presidency statement via Special Adviser on Information and Strategy Bayo Onanuga.
Virtual Asset Council:
- Chair: Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)
- Vice chairs: Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
- Other members: Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA)
- Role: policy direction, inter-agency cooperation; work with Attorney General on harmonised legal/institutional framework
- Ordered to develop a Harmonised Implementation Framework within 30 days (per Businessday coverage)
Virtual Asset Office: Operational arm domiciled at CBN; shared supervisory technology platform for information sharing, applications, and reporting.
Division of mandates (unchanged statutory powers):
- Securities-classified virtual assets → SEC
- Payment, settlement, custody, non-security virtual asset services → CBN
- Order does not create a new regulator or transfer statutory powers
CBN regulatory sandbox: Controlled environment for eligible operators to test virtual asset products, blockchain solutions, and related services under supervision before wider market launch; assess monetary sovereignty, financial stability, market integrity, consumer protection, financial inclusion, revenue administration.
NRS: Will issue a tax policy for virtual assets clarifying existing tax law application, voluntary compliance, and revenue contribution.
White paper: Federal Government finalising a comprehensive Virtual Assets White Paper for longer-term policy direction.
Rationale: Fragmented regulation left gaps exploited for money laundering, terrorism financing, cybersecurity/privacy risks, fraud, and revenue losses; unregistered operators defrauded Nigerians. Order aims to close gaps via supervisory coordination without new regulatory layers.
SEC context: Recently admitted seven firms to Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme (ARIP): Bitbarter, Luno Fintech Nigeria, GetEquity, Koinkoin, Wrapped CBDC, Trovotech, Blockvault Custodian — following Quidax and Busha (Aug 2024).