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ARTICLE · 28 JULY 2026

Nigeria's New Virtual Assets Framework: Seven Steps Fintechs Must Take To Compete And Comply

SimmonsCooper Partners
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Nigeria has taken another significant step towards bringing virtual assets, cryptocurrency businesses and blockchain-enabled financial services within a more coordinated regulatory framework. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, 2026 should not be viewed as another attempt to prohibit digital assets. Nor does it replace the existing powers of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Nigeria Revenue Service or other relevant agencies.

NigeriaTechnology
Dapo Akinosun
Dapo Akinosun

Nigeria has taken another significant step towards bringing virtual assets, cryptocurrency businesses and blockchain-enabled financial services within a more coordinated regulatory framework.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, 2026 should not be viewed as another attempt to prohibit digital assets. Nor does it replace the existing powers of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Nigeria Revenue Service or other relevant agencies.

Principal objective is coordination.

The Executive Order seeks to reduce regulatory fragmentation by creating a framework through which the relevant authorities can share information, clarify responsibilities and supervise virtual-asset activities more consistently.

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