Tinubu signs order to unify Nigeria’s crypto rules

President Bola Tinubu signed an executive order on Friday to harmonize virtual asset regulation in Nigeria, create a virtual asset council led by senior financial regulators, and instruct the Nigerian Revenue Service to update digital asset tax and reporting policies.

The president’s special adviser Bayo Onanuga announced the order and described its aims as reducing regulatory fragmentation, strengthening cooperation among financial, revenue and capital markets agencies, protecting citizens from fraud and safeguarding the financial system while permitting responsible innovation.

The virtual asset council will be chaired by top financial regulators and will coordinate virtual asset policy across agencies. The president’s office emphasized the order does not create a new regulator or transfer powers; each agency keeps its statutory mandate and independence. The framework is meant to coordinate roles rather than replace existing institutions.

Registration of operators will be tied to the nature of their activities and the types of assets they handle, a change intended to bring previously unregistered platforms under supervision and close gaps that allowed some operators to avoid oversight.

The Nigerian Revenue Service moved earlier this year to align tax rules with the government’s digital asset approach. In January the agency required crypto service providers to link transactions to tax identification numbers and, in some cases, national identification numbers under the Nigeria Tax Administration Act. The executive order directs the tax authority to publish further details on how taxpayers will be affected and to update guidance on reporting and compliance.

The International Monetary Fund reported in June that Nigeria accounted for about 60% of stablecoin inflows into sub‑Saharan Africa since 2019 and recorded roughly $59 billion in crypto inflows between July 2023 and June 2024. The IMF described the policy challenge as narrowing the gap that made informal stablecoin workarounds attractive while keeping new risks contained.

The administration says the new framework is intended to clarify regulatory responsibilities for operators and regulators, address cross‑border payments, illicit finance and tax compliance concerns tied to rapid crypto adoption, and allow agencies to implement updated rules and enforcement measures while retaining their independence.