Nigerian President, Bola Tinubu, has signed an executive order creating a coordinated regulatory framework for Nigeria’s virtual assets industry seeking to close regulatory gaps, combat fraud, and encourage responsible innovation in one of Africa’s largest cryptocurrency markets.

 

Nigerian President, Bola Tinubu, has signed the Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, 2026, establishing a new framework to coordinate the regulation of virtual assets across government agencies as Nigeria seeks to curb fraud while supporting innovation in… pic.twitter.com/BhnioshPqo

— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) July 17, 2026

The Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, 2026, takes immediate effect and 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-chairs, according to a statement from the presidency.

 

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The council will also include

  • the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit and

  • the Office of the National Security Adviser,

and will coordinate oversight across agencies as virtual assets increasingly blur the lines between currencies, commodities and securities.

 

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The government said fragmented regulation had exposed the country to money laundering, terrorism financing, cybercrime, fraud and revenue losses.

The order also establishes a Virtual Asset Office within the CBN to serve as the council’s operational secretariat, facilitating information sharing, licensing applications, and regulatory reporting among participating agencies. Existing regulators will retain their statutory powers, with the new framework designed to improve coordination rather than replace their mandates.

Nigeria has moved steadily toward formal oversight of the crypto sector after years of regulatory uncertainty. The government said the executive order aims to protect consumers while providing greater regulatory clarity for digital asset businesses operating in the country.

 

 

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