- Tinubu Unveils New Executive Order to Regulate Nigeria’s Virtual Asset Sector
- Moves to Tackle Crypto Fraud
- The executive order also creates a Virtual Asset Office, which will serve as the council’s operational arm
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has signed the Virtual Assets Coordination Executive Order, 2026, aimed at strengthening oversight of Nigeria’s digital asset ecosystem and improving collaboration among key regulatory agencies.
Eko Hot Blog reports that the Presidency disclosed this in a statement on Friday, noting that the order takes immediate effect and was issued pursuant to Section 5 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended.
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According to the statement, the executive order is designed to enhance coordination among financial, revenue and capital market regulators while protecting Nigerians from fraud and other risks associated with virtual assets.
The President said fraudulent and unregistered operators had continued to exploit regulatory gaps, causing many Nigerians to lose their savings.
“Too often, unregistered and fraudulent operators have exploited these gaps to prey on unsuspecting Nigerians, costing families their savings.
“The order is designed to close these gaps through supervisory coordination, without introducing new layers of regulation or displacing the mandates of existing agencies,” the statement said.
As part of the implementation framework, Tinubu approved the establishment of a Virtual Asset Council, to be chaired by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), with the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) serving as vice chairmen.
Other members of the council include the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
The Presidency said the council would provide policy direction, strengthen collaboration among participating agencies and work with the Attorney General of the Federation to develop a harmonised legal and institutional framework that aligns the virtual asset sector with Nigeria’s national security and economic objectives.
The executive order also creates a Virtual Asset Office, which will serve as the council’s operational arm, with its secretariat located at the Central Bank of Nigeria.
According to the statement, the office will coordinate information sharing, process applications and reporting among relevant agencies through an integrated supervisory technology platform, while allowing each agency to retain ownership and control of its data.
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