Nigeria’s president approved a framework to coordinate cryptocurrency regulation across the country. The measure establishes an interagency council and a unified system for cooperation among government agencies.
Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed an executive order aimed at standardizing digital asset regulation, strengthening coordination among financial and supervisory authorities, protecting citizens from fraud, and supporting innovation.
The executive order calls for the creation of the Virtual Asset Council, which will be chaired by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The council will also include the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
The Virtual Asset Council will coordinate the work of government agencies, define public policy priorities, and, together with the country’s Attorney General, prepare a unified legal and institutional framework for the digital asset market. Its day to day operations will be handled by the Virtual Asset Office, with a secretariat based at the Central Bank of Nigeria. The office will oversee the daily coordination of information sharing, application processing, and reporting among government agencies through a single supervisory technology platform.
The presidential order doesn’t create a new regulator or redistribute the powers of existing authorities. As before, market participants will register based on the nature of their activities. Securities related operations will remain under the SEC’s jurisdiction, while the Central Bank will oversee payment, settlement, custody, and other services involving digital assets that aren’t classified as securities. The Virtual Asset Council will decide jurisdiction only in cases of regulatory disputes.
The new framework is intended to close regulatory gaps that unregistered market participants previously exploited. According to the Nigerian government, the current fragmented supervisory system creates risks related to money laundering, terrorist financing, cyber threats, data privacy breaches, fraud, and lost tax revenue.
The executive order took effect immediately. Within 30 days, the country will develop a unified implementation framework for all participating agencies.
At the same time, the Central Bank of Nigeria will launch a regulatory sandbox for crypto projects. The program will allow companies to test products, services, and blockchain solutions under regulatory supervision before bringing them to the broader market. The initiative is intended to assess new offerings from the perspective of consumer protection, as well as their impact on the monetary system, market integrity, tax administration, financial stability, and financial inclusion.
In addition, the Nigeria Revenue Service is preparing a separate policy for the digital asset sector. The document is expected to clarify how existing tax laws apply to the industry and improve regulatory certainty for market participants.
The government is also finalizing the Virtual Assets White Paper, a comprehensive document that will define the country’s long term strategy for developing the sector.
Nigeria has consistently ranked among the global leaders in cryptocurrency adoption. At the same time, the country’s authorities continue to expand blockchain initiatives, explore tokenization opportunities, and develop new tax rules for transactions conducted on cryptocurrency exchanges.
