President Bola Tinubu has signed the Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, 2026, establishing a unified regulatory framework for Nigeria’s digital asset ecosystem in a move aimed at tackling cryptocurrency-related fraud, streamlining oversight, and encouraging responsible blockchain innovation.

 

The directive, which takes immediate effect, was announced by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga. It seeks to eliminate overlapping regulatory functions among government agencies while creating a coordinated approach to the regulation of virtual assets and digital financial technologies.

 

A major feature of the executive order is the establishment of the Virtual Asset Council, a harmonisation body to be chaired by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will serve as vice-chairmen.

 

The council will be supported by an Operational Virtual Asset Office domiciled within the CBN. The office is expected to coordinate data sharing, reporting, and regulatory applications among relevant security, intelligence, and financial agencies.

 

According to the order, existing agencies will retain their statutory responsibilities. The SEC will continue to regulate digital tokens classified as securities, while the CBN will oversee custody services, payment systems, and other non-security virtual asset infrastructure.

 

The newly established council has been given 30 days to develop and unveil a Harmonised Implementation Framework to guide the operation of the sector under the new arrangement.

 

As part of the policy reforms, the CBN is expected to launch a regulatory sandbox that will allow approved operators to test virtual asset products and blockchain-based solutions in a controlled environment before they are released to the public.

 

The Nigeria Revenue Service is also set to introduce a comprehensive tax framework for digital asset service providers, a move intended to boost compliance and improve revenue generation from the rapidly growing sector.

 

In addition, the Federal Government is finalising a National Virtual Assets White Paper that will outline Nigeria’s long-term strategy for cryptocurrency, blockchain technology, and the broader digital economy.

 

The executive order is widely seen as a follow-up to the recently enacted Investment and Securities Act (ISA), which formally recognised cryptocurrencies and certain virtual assets as digital securities under Nigerian law.

 

Observers believe the new framework could strengthen investor confidence, enhance regulatory clarity, and position Nigeria as a leading hub for digital asset innovation in Africa while addressing concerns over fraud and illicit financial activities within the crypto space.