Nigeria has just set the rules of the game for stablecoins. In force since November 5, the Central Bank of Nigeria’s new regulation on non-security virtual assets puts stablecoin issuers at the heart of its framework. The reform is making headlines in Nigeria’s tech press this Monday and could reshape the crypto landscape in Africa’s most populous country.
The text creates two categories. The first, known as Class 1, covers stablecoins pegged to the naira. Their issuers must have minimum paid-up capital of ₦10 billion, or about $7.4 million. The second, Class 2, is aimed squarely at major dollar-backed tokens such as Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC. Here the threshold rises to ₦15 billion, about $11.16 million, plus an application fee of ₦10 million. Foreign currency reserves must also be held with a Nigerian commercial bank.
The most far-reaching measure concerns foreign players. An issuer based abroad will no longer be able to serve Nigerian users on the strength of a licence obtained elsewhere. It will have to operate through an entity incorporated in Nigeria, holding a Class 2 licence and answering directly to the CBN. There is no exemption for offshore companies, and it is not yet known whether Tether or Circle have responded.
The framework does not stop at issuers. Other virtual asset service providers, such as exchanges, wallet providers and payment services, will need minimum capital of ₦1 billion. For those already holding a licence from the Securities and Exchange Commission, this requirement comes on top of the capital set by the securities regulator. Peer-to-peer trading will also be regulated, with mandatory verification of users’ Bank Verification Number. And no platform will be allowed to convert naira into foreign currency stablecoins without the Central Bank’s express approval.
The CBN has built in several safeguards. Required capital must be kept separate from the issuer’s reserves, customer funds and operating liquidity. A company that falls below its threshold must notify the Central Bank immediately and submit a restoration plan within ten business days. A stablecoin whose circulating value exceeds ₦500 billion for thirty consecutive days, or which has more than five million users in Nigeria, may be deemed systemically important and placed under enhanced supervision. Operators concerned have 180 days to obtain their licence.
The figures are striking. In a country where the minimum wage stands at ₦70,000 a month, the capital floor for dollar stablecoins equals thousands of years of minimum wage. This barrier to entry is likely to reduce the number of players and favour the best-capitalised groups.
The stakes are high. According to Chainalysis, Nigeria’s crypto market moved $38.1 billion between July 2025 and June 2026, driven in particular by the use of stablecoins to hedge against the naira’s depreciation and to send money abroad. By tightly regulating these tokens, the Central Bank aims to protect savers and keep better control over currency flows, at the risk of slowing innovation and pushing some transactions into informal channels.