President Bola Tinubu has signed an Executive Order introducing a coordinated regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies and other virtual assets, aimed at strengthening oversight, protecting investors and supporting responsible innovation in Nigeria’s digital asset sector.
The Executive Order establishes a unified framework for government agencies overseeing virtual assets, creating a Virtual Asset Council to harmonise regulation, close supervisory gaps, strengthen information sharing, and tackle fraud, money laundering, terrorism financing and other financial crimes without creating a new regulator.
The Order is designed to improve coordination among regulators in response to the growing complexity of virtual assets, which increasingly blur the traditional boundaries between currencies, commodities, money and securities.
It also seeks to eliminate overlaps and regulatory gaps that have enabled unregistered and fraudulent operators to exploit unsuspecting Nigerians while preserving the statutory mandates of existing institutions.
In a statement issued on Friday, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the President signed the Executive Order pursuant to Section 5 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), adding that the directive takes immediate effect.
According to the statement, the 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 is expected to provide strategic policy direction, enhance collaboration among participating agencies and, in partnership with the Attorney-General of the Federation, develop a harmonised legal and institutional framework that aligns the virtual assets ecosystem with Nigeria’s national security, economic and social priorities.
To support its operations, the Order also establishes a Virtual Asset Office, which will serve as the Council’s secretariat and operational arm. The office, domiciled at the CBN, will coordinate day-to-day information sharing, regulatory applications and reporting among participating agencies through an integrated supervisory technology platform that enables collaboration while allowing each institution to retain ownership and control of its data.
The Presidency emphasised that the Executive Order neither creates a new regulator nor transfers statutory powers from existing agencies. Instead, it provides a coordination mechanism that enables regulators to work together more effectively while retaining their individual legal mandates and institutional independence.
Under the framework, regulatory responsibility will depend on the nature of the virtual asset or service involved. Digital assets that qualify as securities will continue to fall under the oversight of the SEC, while payment, settlement, custody and other services involving non-security virtual assets will be supervised by the CBN. Where regulatory responsibility is unclear, the Virtual Asset Council will determine the appropriate agency.
The government said the framework is intended to close loopholes previously exploited by unregistered operators and improve consumer protection by ensuring that all participants in the sector are subject to appropriate oversight.
As part of the coordinated regulatory approach, the CBN will establish a regulatory sandbox to allow eligible firms to test virtual asset products, blockchain applications and related services within a controlled and closely supervised environment before they are introduced to the wider market.
The sandbox is expected to enable regulators to assess potential implications for monetary sovereignty, financial stability, market integrity, consumer protection, financial inclusion and revenue administration, while encouraging innovation that complies with regulatory standards. The CBN is expected to announce further details of the initiative.
The Nigeria Revenue Service will also issue a dedicated tax policy for the virtual assets sector to clarify the application of existing tax laws, improve certainty for taxpayers and service providers, strengthen voluntary compliance and ensure the sector contributes fairly to government revenue.
In addition, the Federal Government is finalising a comprehensive Virtual Assets White Paper that will outline Nigeria’s long-term policy direction, implementation priorities and strategic roadmap for the sector.
The statement added that the newly established Virtual Asset Council has been directed to produce a Harmonised Implementation Framework within 30 days to guide participating agencies in implementing the Executive Order and ensuring its timely and effective execution.