Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu has signed the Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, 2026, launching a Virtual Asset Council to harmonise how the country regulates digi
Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu has signed the Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, 2026, launching a Virtual Asset Council to harmonise how the country regulates digital assets while shielding citizens from fraud. The order takes effect immediately and represents a national policy step for Nigeria's fast-growing virtual assets sector.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed the executive order on virtual assets, with the measure taking immediate effect, according to the State House in Abuja. The presidency framed the order as a way to harmonise virtual-asset regulation while protecting citizens from fraud. For related coverage, see Strive Purchased 21 Bitcoin for $1.3M.
This is a formal government measure rather than a private-sector product launch, and it centers on Nigeria's national leadership setting policy direction for the digital economy. It does not, on its own, legalize or ban any specific activity. For related coverage, see Ziliqa Reports Security Incident Involving Exchange Partner.
Nigeria already had a formal digital-assets framework in place before this order. The country's SEC lists its Rules on Issuance, Offering Platforms and Custody of Digital Assets as dated 11 May 2022, covering issuance, offering platforms, custodians, virtual-asset service providers, and digital-asset exchanges. The new order overlays a coordination layer on top of that existing regime rather than replacing it. For related coverage, see AZ-COM Maruwa Holdings Weighs JPYC for Payment Services.
The order establishes a Virtual Asset Council chaired by the Central Bank of Nigeria, with the Nigeria Revenue Service and the Securities and Exchange Commission as vice-chairs, alongside the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit and the Office of the National Security Adviser. That structure signals a broad, multi-agency approach to policy coordination. For related coverage, see Michael Saylor Urges Rejection of Bitcoin BIP-110 in 110-Point Essay.
It also creates a Virtual Asset Office as the council's operational body, with its secretariat domiciled at the CBN. Together, the order and the new council point to a broader regulatory direction for the digital asset sector rather than a one-off statement.
The Council has been directed to develop a Harmonised Implementation Framework within 30 days. That deadline is the key execution detail and the primary near-term test of whether the coordination mechanism can move quickly.
Implementation Deadline 30 days Tinubu's executive order gives the new Virtual Asset Council 30 days to produce a Harmonised Implementation Framework. Source: State House, Abuja.Independent reporting indicates the order keeps existing agency mandates intact while splitting registration responsibilities, with the SEC handling security-like activities and the CBN covering payment, settlement, custody, and related non-security virtual-asset services, Punch reported. That split implies the council is a governance and coordination signal rather than a new standalone regulator.
For exchanges, fintech firms, and other market participants, the clearest change is a defined regulator split: security-like assets fall to the SEC, while payment, settlement, and custody services fall to the CBN. That mapping could sharpen compliance expectations for operators already registered under the 2022 SEC rules.
National policy announcements of this kind often draw investor attention because they affect market confidence and the perceived stability of the local regime. As institutional interest in the asset class broadens, reflected in the roughly 2,000 institutional investors that reported Bitcoin holdings in Q1 2026, coordinated national frameworks may carry added weight for how firms approach Nigeria's market.
The presidency also signaled further steps that are not yet finalized. According to unconfirmed details in the announcement, the Federal Government is preparing a comprehensive Virtual Assets White Paper to set longer-term policy, and the CBN is expected to announce more details of a virtual-assets regulatory sandbox; neither document was published in the materials reviewed.
The backdrop for the announcement is a cautious market. Bitcoin traded near $65,451, up about 1.3% over 24 hours, while the Fear & Greed Index read 29, in Fear territory, on July 20, 2026.
The concrete next milestone is the 30-day window for the council to deliver its harmonised implementation framework, which will show whether the coordination overlay translates into workable rules for Nigeria's digital asset ecosystem.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency and digital asset markets carry significant risk. Always do your own research before making decisions.
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