Tinubu Signs Executive Order On Virtual Assets Regulation

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has signed the Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, 2026, introducing a coordinated regulatory framework designed to harmonise oversight of Nigeria’s rapidly growing virtual assets sector while strengthening efforts to combat fraud and financial crimes.

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

According to a statement issued on Friday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the new framework seeks to address regulatory fragmentation as virtual assets increasingly blur the traditional distinctions between currencies, securities, commodities and other financial instruments.

The Presidency noted that multiple regulatory agencies have operated independently over the years, creating overlapping responsibilities in some areas while leaving significant gaps in others.

These weaknesses, the statement said, have exposed Nigeria to risks including money laundering, terrorism financing, cybercrime, data privacy breaches, fraud and substantial revenue losses.

It also observed that fraudulent and unregistered operators have exploited the lack of coordinated oversight to defraud unsuspecting Nigerians, resulting in significant financial losses for many individuals and families.

To improve coordination, the Executive Order establishes a Virtual Asset Council, which will 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-chairpersons, while other members include the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).

The Council will provide policy direction, enhance collaboration among participating institutions and work with the Attorney-General of the Federation to develop a harmonised legal and institutional framework for virtual assets that aligns with Nigeria’s national security, economic and social objectives.

The Executive Order also establishes a Virtual Asset Office, which will function as the operational arm of the Council.

The office will be headquartered at the Central Bank of Nigeria and will oversee day-to-day coordination of information sharing, regulatory applications and reporting among participating agencies.

According to the Presidency, the office will be supported by an integrated supervisory technology platform that enables agencies to share relevant information while maintaining ownership and control of their respective data.

The Presidency clarified that the Executive Order does not establish a new regulatory agency or transfer statutory powers from existing institutions.

Instead, each participating agency will retain its current legal mandate and independence, while the new framework ensures greater cooperation and eliminates regulatory overlaps.

Under the arrangement, regulatory responsibility will depend on the nature of the virtual asset or service involved.

For instance, virtual assets classified as securities will continue to fall under the jurisdiction of the Securities and Exchange Commission, while payment, settlement, custody and related services involving non-security virtual assets will be regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Where uncertainty exists regarding regulatory responsibility, the Virtual Asset Council will determine the appropriate supervising authority.

The government said this approach is intended to close loopholes that previously enabled unregistered operators to evade regulatory oversight.

As part of the coordinated framework, the Central Bank of Nigeria will establish a regulatory sandbox for virtual assets.

The sandbox will provide a controlled environment where eligible operators can test cryptocurrency services, blockchain innovations and other virtual asset products under regulatory supervision before wider public deployment.