Nigeria’s new digital economy rules leave gaps in crypto regulation – financial law expert explains

The Conversation · 🇦🇺 public Australia · Aug 03, 2026 · 1248 words · By Iwa Salami

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What to know about Nigeria’s new digital economy rules leave gaps in crypto regulation – financial law expert explains

Professor Iwa Salami analyzes a 2026 executive order by Nigerian President Bola Tinubu intended to harmonize the regulation of virtual assets. The author evaluates the order's potential to close regulatory gaps while highlighting remaining challenges such as the lack of statutory power and the rise of AI-driven commerce.

Propaganda risk 10%

Claims checked 15

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center75%

Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Nigerian president Bola Tinubu signed an executive order in mid-2026 aimed at harmonising the country’s oversight of the digital economy.

Why it matters

The press statement said the order was responding “to a regulatory environment that has become fragmented as virtual assets increasingly blur the traditional boundaries between currencies, money, commodities and securities”.

Common ground

Iwa Salami, a professor of financial law and regulation, examines whether the executive order plugs the gaps in Nigeria’s crypto-asset regulation.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Nigeria’s new digital economy rules leave gaps in crypto regulation – financial law expert explains?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that a white paper on virtual assets is being finalised?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://theconversation.com/nigerias-new-digital-economy-rules-leave-gaps-in-cry…

analyticsAnalysis

10%

Propaganda Score

confidence: 95%

Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 15 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 5

info Single Source 4

check_circle Corroborated 3

verified Verified By Reference 2

help Insufficient Evidence 1

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Claim 1: “a white paper on virtual assets is being finalised.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 2: “Nigerian president Bola Tinubu signed an executive order in mid-2026 aimed at harmonising the country’s oversight of the digital economy.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent web search results confirm that President Bola Tinubu signed an executive order in mid-2026 to harmonize the oversight of the digital economy and cryptocurrency regulation.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Adekunle Tinubu (born 29 March 1952) is a Nigerian politician serving as the 16th and current president of Nigeria since 2023. He previously served as the governor of Lagos State f…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bola_Tinubu

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Bola Tinubu assumed office as President of Nigeria on 29 May 2023. The president has the authority to nominate members of his Cabinet to the Nigerian Senate for confirmation. Ministers were nominated …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabinet_of_Bola_Tinubu

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — General elections will be held in Nigeria on 16 January 2027 to elect the president and vice president, members of the Senate and House of Representatives. Elections to elect state governors, and memb…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2027_Nigerian_general_election

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 3: “the Financial Action Task Force Recommendation 16 (an international standard) requires service providers at each end of a virtual asset transaction above a certain value to collect and share information about the sender and the recipient.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent sources (LinkedIn, ARGOS Identity, and a guide on the Travel Rule) explicitly confirm that FATF Recommendation 16 requires VASPs to collect and share originator and beneficiary information for transactions above certain thresholds.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Anti–money laundering (AML) refers to a set of laws, regulations and institutional practices designed to help financial institutions and other regulated entities prevent, detect, and report money laun…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti–money_laundering

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), also known by its French name, Groupe d'action financière (GAFI), is an intergovernmental organisation founded in 1989 on the initiative of the G7 to develop po…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_Action_Task_Force

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Financial Action Task Force blacklist (often abbreviated to FATF blacklist, and officially known as the "Call for action") is a blacklist maintained by the Financial Action Task Force. The blackli…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_Action_Task_Force_bl…

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 4: “The executive order: establishes a Virtual Asset Council and creates a Virtual Asset Office at the Central Bank of Nigeria”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided Wikipedia results discuss a 'Pakistan Crypto Council' and general virtual currency definitions, but do not mention a Virtual Asset Council or Office established by a Nigerian executive order within the CBN.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC) is a Pakistani regulatory body established to develop policy, infrastructure and regulation for blockchain technology and digital assets within Pakistan. It operates unde…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistan_Crypto_Council

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Virtual currency, or virtual money, is a digital currency that is typically unregulated, issued and usually controlled by its developers, and used and accepted electronically among the members of a sp…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_currency

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A virtual politician, or AI politician, is an artificial entity seeking or in government office. A virtual politician would have similar power to a human serving in the same position, but would be pr…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_politician

info

Claim 5: “Singapore and the UK also have clearly defined asset categories to avoid overlapping or conflicting rules.”

SINGLE SOURCE

Only one source mentions Singapore's move into asset tokenization; there is no corroborating evidence regarding the UK or the specific goal of avoiding overlapping rules.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — In Singapore, some see growth opportunities in digital and private assets in 2025.Notably, investing in new sustainable asset classes has increased since 2024, which signals a growing interest and com…
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/asse…

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web search NEUTRAL — Explore what 2026 will look like as real world asset tokenization offerings go mainstream, transforming asset ownership, liquidity, institutional adoption.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-2026-look-like-real-worl…

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web search NEUTRAL — Asset tokenisation refers to the process of converting ownership rights in an asset into a digital token on a blockchain. This innovative approach has the potential to revolutionise traditional financ…
https://www.thefinancialcoconut.com/blog/singapore-move-into…

verified

Claim 6: “The EU has one framework and set of definitions across all member states.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

While the evidence confirms the existence and structure of the EU, none of the provided sources mention a specific single framework or set of definitions for virtual assets across member states.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The European Economic Area (EEA) has 32 special territories of EU member states and EFTA member states which, for historical, geographical, or political reasons, enjoy special status within or outside…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_territories_of_members…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 27 member states that are located primarily in Europe. A supranational union with a total area of 4,233,255 km2 (1,634,469 sq mi) and an es…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The European Union (EU) is a supranational union of 27 member states that are party to the EU's founding treaties, and thereby subject to the privileges and obligations of membership. They have agreed…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Member_state_of_the_European_U…

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 7: “The executive order: mandates information-sharing and reporting through an integrated supervisory technology platform”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 8: “Nigerians are prevented from trading the naira on crypto exchanges as they were in May 2024”

CORROBORATED

Two independent web sources explicitly state that in May 2024, the Central Bank of Nigeria banned person-to-person cryptocurrency trading in the naira, preventing Nigerians from trading the naira on exchanges.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — British Nigerians (here meaning British people of Nigerian descent) have formed long-established communities in London, Liverpool and other industrial cities. A large number of British Nigerians live …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Nigerians

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of 923,769 …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigeria

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Nigerians are the citizens and nationals of Nigeria, as well as people with ancestry from there. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigerians

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 9: “Virtual assets are digital representations of value that can be transferred, stored or traded electronically using distributed ledger technology or blockchain.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence for this claim consists of general dictionary definitions of 'virtual' and unrelated software (VirtualDJ), failing to provide a definition of 'virtual assets' in the context of blockchain or DLT.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Virtual function, a programming function or method whose behaviour can be overridden within an inheriting class by a function with the same signature Virtual machine, the virtualization of a computer …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 4 days ago · The meaning of VIRTUAL is being such in essence or effect though not formally recognized or admitted. How to use virtual in a sentence.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/virtual

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — STAND-ALONE DJ MIXER VirtualDJ lets you start mixing as a DJ right away, with just your computer. To practice & learn, or prepare sets & playlists. VirtualDJ works for every type of DJ, with or withou…
https://virtualdj.com/download/

info

Claim 10: “decentralised exchanges like Uniswap allow users to trade directly with one another.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence gives general definitions of 'decentralization' but does not mention Uniswap or the specific functionality of decentralized exchanges.

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web search NEUTRAL — Decentralization is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those related to planning and decision-making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decentralization

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — DECENTRALIZED definition: (of a central authority) having much of the decision-making power vested in teams, divisions, or local branches instead of in a single center of power. See examples of decent…
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/decentralized

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — DECENTRALIZED definition: used to describe organizations or their activities which are not controlled from one central place…. Learn more.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/decentra…

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Claim 11: “The Central Bank is also creating a safe, supervised space where companies can trial new products on a small scale before they are allowed out into the real market.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 12: “The Nigerian government admitted that fraudulent operators exploited these gaps in the rules to prey on Nigerians.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found after searching for this claim.

info

Claim 13: “They include crypto-assets such as Bitcoin and Ether, stablecoins, tokenised securities and other digital tokens.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence is identical to claim 1 and does not mention Bitcoin, Ether, stablecoins, or tokenized securities.

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schedule

Claim 14: “The executive order: authorises the creation of an implementation framework within 30 days.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 15: “99% of stablecoins are denominated in US dollars.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.