The President of Nigeria signs executive order to establish a Virtual Assets Committee and coordinate crypto regulation

According to Odaily, Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has signed an executive order to coordinate virtual asset regulation, strengthen cooperation among the country's financial, tax, and capital market institutions, and address the fragmentation of digital asset regulation.

This executive order establishes a Virtual Asset Committee composed of the heads of major Nigerian financial regulatory agencies, responsible for guiding relevant policies. The Nigerian tax authority will update its digital asset policies and provide more details on the impact to taxpayers.

Presidential special adviser Bayo Onanuga stated that this executive order does not create new regulatory bodies nor transfer powers among agencies; each agency retains its statutory duties and independence, and registration requirements will be determined by the nature of the activities and assets involved.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) June report shows that since 2019, Nigeria has accounted for about 60% of stablecoin inflows in Sub-Saharan Africa; from July 2023 to June 2024, the country’s cryptocurrency inflows were approximately $59 billion.