Nigeria embraces cryptocurrencies as regulators unify oversight

3 min read

Nigeria announced a coordinated regulatory shift that fully recognises cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and virtual assets, with the central bank, securities regulator, tax authority and the presidency aligned on support. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed the Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination (2026) to create a Virtual Asset Council chaired by the Central Bank of Nigeria, aiming to remove overlapping rules and ease compliance. Officials and industry leaders said the change should encourage institutional participation, enable unified supervision of crypto businesses, and help build payment rails for cross‑border settlements, while emphasising ongoing consumer protection and tax compliance.

The presidential order created a CBN‑chaired Virtual Asset Council.