The Central Bank of Nigeria has issued a set of regulations for the operations of non-security Virtual Assets in Nigeria, effective November 5, 2026.According to a circular signed by Musa Jimoh, the Director in charge of Payment System Policy Department, issued to Virtual Assets providers and stakeholders which was made available to the media on Friday, the purpose of the regulation is “to promote responsible innovation, strengthen the integrity of the Nigerian financial system and provide an appropriate regulatory framework for emerging digital payment instruments.
The bank clarified that it acted based on the powers conferred on it by both the Central Bank of Nigeria Act of 2007, Banks and other Financial Institutions Act, 2020 as well as other relevant laws.
“The Regulations are issued pursuant to the powers conferred on the Bank by:
the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007;
the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, 2020; and other applicable laws.”
“The Regulations establish a comprehensive, risk-based framework for the licensing, authorisation, regulation, supervision and oversight of Non-Security Virtual Assets and related activities in Nigeria. They cover, among other matters, stablecoins, Deposit Money Tokens, Virtual Asset Service Providers, virtual asset payment services, platform-facilitated peer-to-peer services, custody, transfer, remittance, clearing and settlement activities.
The Regulations also prescribe requirements relating to: Classification and designation of regulated tokens and activities; Licensing and authorisation of issuers and providers of Non-Security Virtual Asset services; Capital, reserve-backing, liquidity and redemption requirements; Corporate governance, risk management and internal control systems; Technology risk, cybersecurity and operational resilience; Safeguarding of reserve assets and customer assets; Customer protection, disclosures and complaints management;
Anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing and counter-proliferation financing obligations; Sanctions screening, transaction monitoring and blockchain analytics; Travel Rule compliance and counterparty VASP due diligence; Regulatory reporting, supervisory access and information-sharing requirements; and
Enforcement, administrative sanctions and orderly wind-down arrangements.
“The Regulations apply to persons carrying out regulated activities in or from Nigeria, directing such activities at persons in Nigeria, or undertaking activities that may materially affect the Nigerian payments system, financial system, foreign exchange market or financial stability. They may apply irrespective of whether the relevant person maintains a physical presence in Nigeria.
“The Regulations do not displace the statutory mandate of the Securities and Exchange Commission or any other competent authority. Activities involving security virtual assets, securities, investment contracts or other capital-market products shall remain subject to the applicable capital-market regulatory framework. Where an activity involves both Non-Security Virtual Assets and matters falling within another authority’s mandate, the relevant approvals shall be obtained from each competent authority.
“All affected institutions, issuers, service providers, operators, promoters and other stakeholders are required to familiarise themselves with the Regulations and ensure full compliance with the applicable licensing, authorisation, prudential, operational, reporting, AML/CFT/CPF, customer-protection and technology requirements.
“The Regulations for the Operations of Non-Security Virtual Assets in Nigeria shall take effect from November 5, 2026.