Nigeria has put a new coordination structure for cryptocurrency and other virtual assets into immediate effect, seeking to reduce gaps and overlaps among financial, tax and security regulators.\n\nThe executive order signed by President Bola Tinubu creates a Virtual Asset Council chaired by the Central Bank of Nigeria. The Nigeria Revenue Service and Securities and Exchange Commission serve as vice-chairs, with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit and Office of the National Security Adviser also represented.\n\nAn operational Virtual Asset Office will be based at the central bank. The government said the arrangement is intended to coordinate existing legal mandates rather than create another regulator or displace current agencies.\n\nThe order directs the council to produce a harmonized implementation framework within 30 days. It also says the central bank will provide details of a regulatory sandbox, the revenue service will publish a tax policy, and the federal government is preparing a longer-term white paper. Those elements are still forthcoming, so their practical requirements for businesses and consumers cannot yet be assessed.\n\nSource: State House, Abuja — https://statehouse.gov.ng/president-tinubu-signs-executive-order-on-virtual-assets-establishes-council-to-harmonise-regulation-of-digital-economy/\n\nSource: Securities and Exchange Commission Nigeria, digital-asset incubation program — https://sec.gov.ng/for-investors/keep-track-of-circulars/sec-clears-seven-new-fintech-firms-for-admission-into-the-accelerated-regulatory-incubation-programme-arip/\n\nSource: Techpoint Africa — https://techpoint.africa/news/tinubu-executive-order-virtual-assets/