President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has signed the Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, 2026, establishing a consolidated blueprint to supervise Nigeria’s rapidly expanding crypto and digital assets sector.
The landmark decree ends years of fragmented, siloed enforcement by establishing a unified supervisory approach across digital currencies, stablecoins, tokenized real-world assets, and broader Web3 financial services.
Key Highlights of the Executive Order:
- Creation of the Virtual Asset Council (VAC): Chaired by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) serving as vice-chairs. The council also integrates the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) to drive policy and resolve inter-agency clashes.
- Centralized Operational Hub: A dedicated Virtual Asset Office will be headquartered within the CBN to manage information sharing, reporting, and licensing through an integrated supervisory technology platform.
- Jurisdictional Clarity: Existing agency mandates remain intact. The SEC retains regulatory oversight over digital assets classified as investment securities, while the CBN handles payments, clearing, custody, and settlement infrastructure for non-security virtual assets.
- CBN Innovation Sandbox: As part of the directive, the CBN is launching a regulatory sandbox enabling vetted operators to test novel crypto products and tokenization models in a controlled environment before full market rollout.
- Roadmap & Implementation: The Virtual Asset Council has been given a 30-day deadline to publish a Harmonized Implementation Framework, alongside an upcoming national Virtual Assets White Paper outlining Nigeria’s long-term digital asset vision.
Why This Matters for Investors & Startups
By replacing overlapping mandates with clear regulatory pathways, the policy is designed to reduce compliance hurdles for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), curb systemic financial crime, and officially integrate crypto economic activity into national tax frameworks.
