Tinubu's Executive Order Brings Regulation to Nigeria's Crypto Market

Nigeria's President Tinubu has issued an executive order creating a Virtual Asset Council to coordinate licensing of digital assets nationwide. The council is chaired by the central bank and includes representatives from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS). This move marks a significant shift in the country's approach to cryptocurrency regulation, which had previously been met with hostility.

Nigeria is Africa's largest crypto market, with Nigerians conducting $92.1 billion in on-chain transactions between July 2024 and June 2025 alone. The country has long struggled to reconcile its enthusiasm for digital assets with its regulatory instincts, leading to a legal grey area where transactions took place.

The executive order aims to address the need for regulation, with the SEC's January circular increasing minimum capital requirements for exchanges and custodians by four times to N2 billion ($1.47 million). Compliance is due by June 2027, which has been seen as a consolidation trade disguised as prudential regulation.

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