Nigeria establishes virtual asset council to coordinate crypto regulations
Mariblock
The big picture
Nigeria is trying to bring its crypto regulators onto the same page after years of separate approaches from different government agencies.
Nigeria will establish a virtual asset council to coordinate cryptocurrency regulation after President Bola Tinubu signed an executive order creating the body, as the government seeks a more coherent approach to overseeing digital assets.
How the council will work
The Virtual Asset Council will coordinate policy among the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), according to the executive order signed on July 18.
- The government said the framework “does not create a new regulator or transfer powers between agencies.” Instead, it will provide policy direction and help resolve areas where regulatory responsibilities overlap or remain unclear.
- A key provision of the order is that regulatory responsibility will be determined by the nature of the activity. The SEC will continue overseeing virtual assets classified as securities, while the CBN will oversee payment, settlement, custody and related services involving non-security virtual assets.
- The order also directs the creation of a virtual asset regulatory sandbox and a crypto tax policy by the NRS. The council has 30 days to develop a harmonised implementation framework for the participating agencies.
Context
Nigeria’s digital asset regulatory landscape has seen several policy developments in recent years, including new registration pathways and supervisory frameworks, though most remain in early stages of implementation.
- In 2023, President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope manifesto identified blockchain as part of his administration’s digital economy agenda.
- Later that year, the CBN lifted restrictions preventing banks from providing services to virtual asset providers, while the SEC introduced a regulatory pathway for crypto firms through its Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme.
- Earlier this year, the CBN launched a supervision pilot for digital assets with six companies, marking its first direct supervisory engagement with the sector after years of restrictions on crypto-related activities.
What comes next
The State House release announcing the order also hints at a pending virtual assets white paper:
“The Federal Government is also finalising a comprehensive virtual assets white paper, which will set out the country’s longer-term policy direction and implementation priorities and serve as a roadmap for stakeholders across the sector.