Tinubu's Digital Economy Order: A Step Forward for Nigeria's Crypto Regulation

Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu signed an executive order in mid-2026 to harmonize the country's digital economy rules, citing a need to address the 'fragmented regulatory environment' caused by virtual assets blurring traditional boundaries between currencies, money, commodities, and securities.

Iwa Salami, a professor of financial law and regulation, notes that virtual assets include crypto-assets like Bitcoin and Ether, stablecoins, tokenized securities, and other digital tokens. They are increasingly used for payments, remittances, and settlement due to their ease of access relative to cash, foreign currency, and bank services.

The executive order establishes a Virtual Asset Council and creates a Virtual Asset Office at the Central Bank of Nigeria. It also mandates information-sharing and reporting through an integrated supervisory technology platform and authorizes the creation of an implementation framework within 30 days.

However, Salami argues that while the order is a step in the right direction, it still leaves gaps in crypto-asset regulation. The council's framework will need to address shared definitions, clear stablecoin rules, separate treatment for centralised and decentralised exchanges, active cross-border cooperation, and rules offering licensed pathways rather than bans.