President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has signed an executive order aimed at reducing fragmentation in Nigeria’s digital-asset framework, coordinating regulators and prompting updated tax guidance for crypto activity. The move establishes a dedicated council to steer virtual-asset policy and is billed by the president’s office as a step to protect consumers while allowing responsible innovation.
Executive order sets coordination framework
The order, announced by the president’s special adviser Bayo Onanuga, is designed to harmonize the regulation of virtual assets and strengthen cooperation among Nigeria’s financial, revenue and capital-markets agencies. Onanuga said the measure would help protect citizens from fraud and safeguard the integrity of the financial system while enabling responsible innovation.
Rather than creating a new regulator, the executive order establishes a coordinating framework. As Onanuga put it, the order “does not create a new regulator or transfer powers between agencies.” Each institution will retain its statutory mandate and independence, he added, with the new structure intended to coordinate agency activity rather than replace existing powers.
Virtual asset council to guide policy
The order creates a virtual asset council to direct policy for digital assets. The council will be headed by some of the country’s top financial regulators and is meant to provide a single forum for shaping cross-cutting rules and responses to emerging risks. Officials say registration and oversight will be tied to the nature of specific activities and the assets involved, closing gaps that regulators say allowed some operators to avoid scrutiny.
By aligning how agencies approach registration and enforcement, the government aims to provide greater legal clarity for businesses and consumers. The administration framed the initiative as a way to bring coherence to a regulatory environment that observers have described as fragmented.
Tax authority to refine digital-asset rules
The executive order directs Nigeria’s tax authority to update its approach to digital assets. The Nigerian Revenue Service (NRS) is expected to publish additional details on how the changes will affect taxpayers, according to the presidency.
Some tax policy reforms were already announced earlier in the year. In January, authorities said that under the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, crypto service providers must link transactions to tax identification numbers and, in some cases, national identification numbers. The new coordinating framework is intended to work alongside those tax measures to improve compliance and oversight.
Context: large crypto inflows and stablecoin use
Nigeria has been one of the fastest-growing markets for digital assets in Africa. A June report from the International Monetary Fund cited the country as accounting for roughly 60% of stablecoin inflows into sub-Saharan Africa since 2019. The IMF also estimated about $59 billion in crypto inflows to Nigeria between July 2023 and June 2024.
The IMF has framed Nigeria’s challenge as balancing the benefits of crypto-enabled cross-border payments with macroeconomic and financial-stability risks. In its assessment, policy should be “open to innovation but anchored in sound macroeconomic policy and effective regulation,” a formulation the executive order’s coordination goals appear designed to echo.
Implications for operators and consumers
Officials say the order aims to provide certainty for operators and protection for the public by clarifying registration requirements and closing oversight gaps. By tying registration to specific activities and asset types, the government intends to make enforcement more precise and reduce opportunities for unregistered operators to operate outside supervision.
For market participants, the practical implications will depend on the council’s initial policy decisions and on how quickly implementing guidance from the tax authority and other agencies is issued. The presidency has emphasized coordination rather than consolidation of power, indicating existing regulators will continue to exercise their statutory roles while working through the new council.
Next steps and open questions
The administration has signaled a further policy roll-out from the Nigerian Revenue Service and other agencies that will flesh out registration, reporting and tax obligations for crypto service providers and users. Observers will be watching for specific registration rules, timelines for compliance, and how the council resolves jurisdictional questions among agencies.
As Nigeria continues to host a large share of regional stablecoin flows and broader crypto activity, the executive order represents a notable attempt to reconcile innovation with oversight. The effectiveness of the approach will hinge on clear, timely guidance from regulators and on enforcement that addresses the gaps regulators say previously permitted unregistered operations to evade scrutiny.
Source: Cointelegraph