President Bola Tinubu has signed the Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, 2026, establishing a coordinated regulatory framework for Nigeria’s virtual assets ecosystem aimed at strengthening oversight, protecting investors, curbing financial crimes and promoting responsible innovation in the digital economy.

The Executive Order, signed pursuant to Section 5 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), takes immediate effect.

The new framework seeks to harmonise the activities of financial, revenue and capital market regulators in response to the rapidly evolving virtual assets sector, where digital assets increasingly transcend the traditional boundaries of currencies, securities, commodities and payment systems.

The Presidency, in a statement signed by Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, on Friday, said the fragmented regulatory landscape had created overlaps, enforcement gaps and institutional silos that exposed the country to money laundering, terrorism financing, cybersecurity and data privacy threats, fraud and revenue leakages.

It noted that the lack of coordinated oversight had also enabled fraudulent operators to exploit unsuspecting Nigerians, resulting in significant financial losses.

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, enhance collaboration among participating agencies and work with the Attorney-General of the Federation to develop a harmonised legal and institutional framework that aligns virtual asset regulation with Nigeria’s national security, economic and social priorities.

The Order also creates a Virtual Asset Office, which will serve as the Council’s operational arm, with its secretariat domiciled at the CBN.

The office will coordinate information sharing, regulatory applications and reporting among participating 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 diminish the statutory powers of existing institutions. Rather, it provides a mechanism for coordinating their responsibilities. Under the framework, regulatory oversight will be determined by the nature of the asset or activity.

The SEC will continue to regulate virtual assets that qualify as securities, while the CBN will supervise payment, settlement, custody and related services involving non-security virtual assets. Where jurisdictional questions arise, the Council will determine the appropriate regulator.

As part of the reforms, the CBN will launch a regulatory sandbox that will enable eligible operators to test virtual asset products, blockchain applications and related innovations within a controlled environment under regulatory supervision.

The initiative is expected to help authorities assess potential implications for financial stability, monetary policy, market integrity, consumer protection, financial inclusion and revenue administration before such products are introduced to the wider market.

The apex bank is expected to announce further details of the sandbox in due course.

The Nigeria Revenue Service will also unveil a dedicated tax policy for the virtual assets sector to clarify the application of existing tax laws, strengthen voluntary compliance and ensure that the rapidly expanding industry contributes fairly to national revenue.

In addition, the Federal Government is finalising a comprehensive Virtual Assets White Paper, which will outline Nigeria’s long-term policy direction and implementation priorities for the sector.

President Tinubu further directed the newly established Council to develop a Harmonised Implementation Framework within 30 days to guide participating agencies in the effective and coordinated implementation of the Executive Order .