Central Bank of Nigeria is set to play a central role in a new regulatory framework aimed at bringing the country’s fast-growing cryptocurrency and virtual asset market under coordinated oversight, marking a shift from years of uncertainty toward structured supervision.
The move follows the Federal Government’s introduction of the Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, 2026, which established a framework to harmonise oversight of digital assets and improve coordination among financial, revenue and capital market regulators.
At the recent Nigeria Stablecoin Summit 2.0 in Lagos, officials said the CBN, the Nigeria Revenue Service, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and other government institutions were working toward creating a more predictable environment for cryptocurrency businesses, stablecoin operators and virtual asset service providers.
Deputy Director and Tax Controller of the Non-Resident Persons Tax Office at the NRS, Oni Olushola, said the government’s approach had shifted from restriction to regulation as it seeks to capture economic value from the digital asset ecosystem.
