Nigeria's fragmented approach to cryptocurrency oversight is officially over — at least on paper. President Bola Tinubu on July 17, 2026, signed the Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, 2026, creating a new framework to harmonise how government agencies supervise virtual assets, blockchain technology, and digital financial services across the country.
The order takes effect immediately and establishes a Virtual Asset Council that pulls together key financial, revenue, and security agencies under one coordinating body. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will chair the council, with its secretariat also housed within the apex bank.
A Long-Overdue Fix for Regulatory Silos
The problem the order is trying to solve is not new. For years, agencies including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the CBN itself, and various law enforcement bodies have each exercised overlapping — and sometimes contradictory — oversight over different corners of the crypto industry.
That fragmentation created real vulnerabilities. According to a statement signed by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, the gaps left Nigeria exposed to money laundering, terrorism financing, cybersecurity threats, data privacy risks, fraud, and revenue losses.
"With relevant agencies operating in silos — overlapping in some areas and leaving gaps in others — the country has been exposed to risks, including money laundering, terrorism financing, cybersecurity and data privacy threats, fraud, and revenue losses." — Office of the President, via Bayo Onanuga
The Presidency also pointed to the human cost of unregulated activity. "Too often, unregistered and fraudulent operators have exploited these gaps to prey on unsuspecting Nigerians, costing families their savings," the statement read.
Innovation and Enforcement, Together
Officials say the order is designed to achieve two objectives that have historically pulled in opposite directions: supporting responsible innovation while tightening oversight. Nigeria has one of the highest rates of crypto adoption on the continent, making the regulatory vacuum both economically significant and a persistent security concern.
As crypto assets have evolved into payment instruments, investment products, and digital commodities, the lack of a clear, unified framework created uncertainty for operators and investors trying to navigate the system. The new council is meant to deliver exactly that clarity — consistent policy, coordinated enforcement, and defined regulatory pathways for businesses.
Beyond coordination, the framework is expected to strengthen the country's ability to combat fraud, money laundering, terrorism financing, and tax evasion — risks that have drawn increasing scrutiny as crypto adoption scales rapidly in Africa's largest economy.
What Comes Next
The immediate challenge now shifts to implementation. Getting multiple powerful agencies — each with its own mandate, culture, and institutional interests — to operate cohesively under a single council is no small task. The CBN's role as chair will be closely watched, given the bank's historically cautious stance on crypto.
Nigeria's evolving digital financial ecosystem has long needed this kind of structural clarity. Whether the Virtual Asset Council delivers on that promise will depend on how quickly the agencies align — and how consistently the order is enforced once the initial announcement fades.