The Stakeholders in Blockchain Technology Association of Nigeria (SiBAN) makes a stand regarding the Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, 2026, signed by President Bola Tinubu, establishing a Virtual Asset Council chaired by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), with the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as vice-chairs.
What the Executive Order Does?
In simple terms, the Order sets up a Virtual Asset Council to coordinate the agencies that oversee digital assets in Nigeria, rather than creating a brand-new regulator. The CBN chairs the Council, with the NRS and SEC as vice-chairs, alongside the NFIU and the Office of the National Security Adviser.
A Virtual Asset Office, based at the CBN, will handle the day-to-day work of sharing information and applications between agencies. Registration will depend on what an asset or activity actually is: securities-type activities go to the SEC, while payments, custody, and similar services involving non-security virtual assets go to the CBN.
Alongside this, the CBN is preparing a regulatory sandbox, the NRS is drafting a tax policy for the sector, and the government is finalising a broader Virtual Assets White Paper with a detailed implementation framework due within 30 days.
SiBAN President calls for a more structured Legislation
At the same time, SiBAN respectfully reiterates its long-held position that Nigeria's digital asset industry ultimately needs a comprehensive law, not an Executive Order, as its foundation. Institutional fragmentation with the SEC historically treating virtual assets as securities under the ISA 2025, and the CBN and NRS now taking a lead coordinating and revenue role under this Order has been a persistent challenge for the sector.
"This Executive Order follows in the steps of a number of recent regulatory interventions by the government, in response to the persistent advocacy of SiBAN and other members of the blockchain sector. These concerns have been voiced for years, but it is better late than never. While the Council has been created by Executive Order, I would advise that this does not, and should not, make redundant a comprehensive Act of the National Assembly that governs economic activities in blockchain. All these regulatory interventions are signs that the government is waking up to the importance of blockchain, and to its responsibility to the sector." — Barr. Mela Claude Ake, President, SiBAN
From Pilot to Policy: Reading the Order in Context
To fully appreciate the significance of this Order, it helps to look back to April 2026, when the CBN quietly launched its AML/CFT/CPF Supervision Pilot with a select cohort of major Virtual Asset Service Providers, including infrastructure players like Flutterwave, Paystack, and cNGN.
In hindsight, that pilot appears to have been a deliberate, data-gathering precursor to a wider VARA framework establishing a supervisory baseline, testing the FATF Travel Rule, and trialling inter-agency coordination ahead of a broader rollout.
Viewed this way, the Executive Order is best understood as the natural next step in a process the CBN had already begun, now formalised into a binding, cross-agency structure. SiBAN sees value in this continuity and the discipline it brings to supervision.
Speak With One Voice: Join SiBAN
Moments like this are exactly why a united industry voice matters. As the Council and lawmakers shape the rules that will govern Nigeria's digital asset space for years to come, a fragmented industry risks being talked over or overlooked.
SiBAN exists to make sure operators, investors, developers, and builders across the ecosystem are heard as one voice at the tables where these decisions are made.
If you're part of Nigeria's blockchain and digital asset community, we invite you to join SiBAN and stand with us as we push for the comprehensive legislation this industry deserves.
To become a member of SiBAN, send us an email [email protected], or you can also join our SiBAN Telegram community!
