Tinubu Signs Executive Order to Regulate Virtual Assets, Establish Virtual Asset Council

• President Bola Tinubu signed the Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, 2026, with immediate effect
• The Order establishes a Virtual Asset Council chaired by the CBN alongside the NRS, SEC, NFIU, and ONSA
• A regulatory sandbox for virtual assets and a new tax policy for the sector are among the key measures announced under the Order

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President Bola Tinubu has signed the Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, 2026, creating a new coordination framework for Nigeria's virtual assets sector and establishing a dedicated council to harmonise oversight across the country's financial regulatory agencies.

The Order, signed under Section 5 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as altered), took effect immediately.

The announcement was made on July 17, 2025, by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy.

Why Tinubu Signed the Order

According to the presidency, the fragmented regulatory environment surrounding virtual assets had left Nigeria exposed to money laundering, terrorism financing, cybersecurity threats, data privacy risks, fraud, and revenue losses.

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Unregistered and fraudulent operators had exploited gaps between agencies to defraud citizens, sometimes wiping out entire family savings.

The Order is designed to close those gaps through supervisory coordination rather than by creating new bureaucratic layers or overriding the existing mandates of any agency.

At the centre of the new framework is the 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. The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) are also members, Premium Times reports.

The Council will set policy direction and work with the Attorney-General of the Federation to develop a harmonised legal and institutional framework aligned with Nigeria's national security, economic, and social goals.

A Virtual Asset Office will serve as the Council's operational arm, with its secretariat housed at the CBN.

The Office will coordinate day-to-day information sharing, processing of applications, and reporting across agencies through an integrated supervisory technology platform.

No new regulator is being created, and no agency is losing its existing powers.

Registration of virtual asset activities will follow the nature of the activity involved: securities-related activities fall under the SEC, while payment, settlement, custody, and related services involving non-security virtual assets fall under the CBN.

The Council will adjudicate any cases where responsibility is unclear.

Sandbox, Tax Policy, and White Paper

The CBN is proceeding with a regulatory sandbox for virtual assets, offering eligible operators a supervised environment in which to test products, services, and blockchain-based solutions before any wider public rollout.

The Bank will publish further details separately.

The NRS is also preparing a tax policy for the virtual assets sector, aimed at providing certainty for taxpayers and service providers and ensuring the sector contributes appropriately to national revenue.

A comprehensive Virtual Assets White Paper setting out Nigeria's longer-term policy direction is also being finalised by the federal government, Leadership reports

The Council has been directed to produce a Harmonised Implementation Framework within 30 days to guide all participating agencies in executing the Order.

SEC orders freeze on assets linked to suspected terrorism financing

Legit.ng previously reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) directed all capital market operators to immediately freeze the assets of 10 individuals and three organisations accused of financing terrorism.

The action followed the decision of the Nigeria Sanctions Committee (NSC) to designate the affected persons and entities under the Nigeria Sanctions List in line with the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

In a circular, NSC/SEC/MON/AML/CFT/112022/02, addressed to capital market operators and other stakeholders.