Nigeria centralises virtual asset oversight under new presidential executive order
President Bola Tinubu has signed an executive order creating a unified regulatory framework for virtual assets, aiming to close enforcement gaps and provide market certainty for investors and operators in Africa’s largest economy.
President Bola Tinubu signed a new executive order on Friday to unify the oversight of digital assets in Nigeria. The Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, 2026, takes immediate effect to harmonize the actions of the country’s financial, revenue, and capital markets agencies.
Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, stated the move addresses a landscape that has become fragmented as virtual assets blur traditional boundaries. Agencies operating in silos previously left gaps that exposed the financial system to money laundering, fraud, and revenue losses.
To close these loopholes, the directive establishes a Virtual Asset Council chaired by the Central Bank of Nigeria. The Nigeria Revenue Service and the Securities and Exchange Commission will serve as vice-chairs, alongside the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit and the Office of the National Security Adviser.
A new Virtual Asset Office will handle day-to-day coordination and information sharing from a secretariat at the central bank. This operational body will be supported by an integrated supervisory technology platform that allows shared visibility while preserving each agency’s data control.
Crucially for market participants, the framework does not create a new regulator or strip existing agencies of their statutory mandates. Registration will depend on the nature of the activity, with the SEC handling securities and the central bank overseeing payment, settlement, and custody of non-security virtual assets.
The Central Bank of Nigeria is simultaneously launching a regulatory sandbox for virtual assets. This controlled environment will allow eligible operators to test blockchain-based solutions under close supervision before they reach the wider market.
In parallel, the Nigeria Revenue Service will soon release a dedicated tax policy for the sector to strengthen voluntary compliance and ensure fair revenue contribution. The federal government is also finalizing a Virtual Assets White Paper to outline long-term policy direction.
The newly formed council has been directed to produce a Harmonised Implementation Framework within 30 days. This accelerated timeline signals the government’s intent to rapidly stabilize the operating environment for digital asset businesses in the region.
