Tinubu Signs Order to Regulate Nigeria's Cryptocurrency Market

Nigeria's President Tinubu has signed an executive order creating a Virtual Asset Council to coordinate licensing of digital assets nationwide. The council, chaired by the central bank and stocked with the securities regulator and tax authority, marks a significant shift in the country's approach to regulating cryptocurrencies.

The move comes after years of efforts by regulators to ban the market, which has refused to die. Between July 2024 and June 2025 alone, Nigerians conducted $92.1 billion in on-chain transactions, making the country second only to India globally by adoption volume.

Despite these transactions taking place in a legal grey area for years, regulators have now decided to license platforms and set reporting thresholds for large conversions. The move is seen as a response to the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) request that platforms should be licensed and rules harmonized between the central bank and securities regulator.

The creation of cNGN, a naira-pegged stablecoin issued under Investments and Securities Act (ISA) 2025, could keep value creation inside the naira system while still delivering settlement speed. This is something dollar stablecoins cannot do.