Nigeria’s president signs executive order to regulate virtual assets

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has signed an executive order aimed at regulating the country’s virtual asset sector and targeting unregistered operators. The measure took effect immediately and sets up a new oversight framework designed to bring coordination to what the report described as a fragmented regulatory environment. Under the order, a newly formed Virtual Assets Committee will serve as the main policy-making and coordination body. The Central Bank of Nigeria, or CBN, will chair the committee, while the Nigerian tax authority and the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission, or NSEC, will act as vice chairs. Within the CBN, a dedicated virtual assets office will be created to handle day-to-day inter-agency operations and information sharing. The order also divides supervisory responsibilities by activity type. Securities-related financial activities will be overseen by NSEC, while payment, settlement, and custody services tied to non-security virtual assets will fall under the CBN. In parallel, the central bank plans to launch a regulatory sandbox so qualified operators can test virtual asset products and blockchain solutions in a monitored setting. The Virtual Assets Committee is required to produce an implementation framework within 30 days.