President Bola Tinubu has signed the Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, 2026, to harmonise the regulation of virtual assets, strengthen cooperation among the nation’s financial, revenue and capital markets agencies, protect citizens from fraud, and safeguard the integrity of the financial system while enabling responsible innovation.
The President signed the Order pursuant to Section 5 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as altered). The Executive Order takes effect immediately.
It responds to a regulatory environment that has become fragmented as virtual assets increasingly blur the traditional boundaries between currencies, money, commodities and securities.
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. Too often, unregistered and fraudulent operators have exploited these gaps to prey on unsuspecting Nigerians, costing families their savings.
The Order is designed to close these gaps through supervisory coordination, without introducing new layers of regulation or displacing the mandates of existing agencies.
