TLDR
Nigeria has created a unified Virtual Asset Council to coordinate crypto regulation across its main financial and security agencies.
- The council, established by a new presidential executive order, centralizes oversight of virtual assets while keeping existing regulators in place.
- It assigns clearer roles to the Central Bank, Securities and Exchange Commission, and other agencies, aiming to curb fraud and money laundering without banning crypto.
- Over the next 30 days the council must define its rollout framework, including a sandbox and tax policy, which will shape how exchanges and projects can operate in Nigeria.
Deep Dive
1. What Has Been Created
President Bola Tinubu signed the Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, 2026, which is effective immediately and creates a new Virtual Asset Council to oversee crypto activity in Nigeria.
The council is chaired by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), with the Revenue Service and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as vice chairs, and includes the Financial Intelligence Unit and the Office of the National Security Adviser as members. A dedicated virtual asset office inside the CBN will run day-to-day operations and an integrated information-sharing platform across agencies, according to the order described in this oversight framework summary.
Importantly, the order does not create new regulators or strip existing ones of authority. It is a coordination layer meant to replace the previous siloed approach that left gaps exploited by fraudulent operators.
2. How Responsibilities And The Market Change
Under the new framework, SEC Nigeria will oversee securities-linked tokens and registration of offerings, while the CBN is responsible for payments, settlement, and custody of non-security virtual assets. The Virtual Asset Council will arbitrate cases where jurisdiction is unclear.
CBN is also tasked with running a regulatory sandbox for exchanges and startups, and the Revenue Service is developing a dedicated tax policy for virtual assets. Nigeria, which has one of Africas largest crypto-using populations, is moving from de facto bans and enforcement-only actions to formal registration and licensing, similar to recent moves in countries like Zimbabwe.
Projects and exchanges targeting Nigerian users should expect stricter compliance checks and licensing, but also a more predictable environment that could support institutional participation if rules are applied consistently.
3. Timelines, White Paper And Key Risks
The Virtual Asset Council has 30 days to produce a rollout framework that defines how licensing, supervision, and the sandbox will work in practice. The government is also preparing a broader virtual assets white paper to outline long term policy.
Key risks include slow implementation, uneven enforcement, and compliance costs that may push smaller startups out of the market or into informality. Investor confidence will depend on whether the council delivers clear, workable rules rather than adding friction without clarity.
Conclusion
Nigerias unified Virtual Asset Council is a significant shift toward coordinated, formal crypto regulation instead of fragmented oversight or outright bans. If the council can translate the executive order into clear licensing, tax and sandbox rules in the coming months, Nigeria could become a more attractive and safer market for both local users and institutional players, though higher compliance demands will test weaker projects and exchanges.
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