Nigeria’s central bank has set new rules that make issuers of dollar-linked stablecoins open a local presence and pass capital and reserve tests.
Foreign companies that market their coins to Nigerians, even if they have no office in the country, will have to adapt to the new rules. Meanwhile, Nigeria’s own naira coin, cNGN, is still trying to win users.
What do Nigeria’s new stablecoin rules require?
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) published a document called “Regulations for the Operations of Non-Security Virtual Assets in Nigeria.” It sets up licensing and oversight for what it calls Regulated Tokens.
The rules were made under an order signed by President Bola Tinubu on July 17, 2026 and apply to coins that are backed by the naira and coins that are backed by foreign currencies such as the dollar. Deposit Money Tokens also fall under the rules, and so can any other token the central bank decides to add later.
The President’s executive order set up a Virtual Asset Council led by the CBN while the Nigeria Revenue Service and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) function as its vice chairs.
The CBN has reportedly set a capital requirement of 15 billion naira for foreign stablecoin issuers (about $10.5 million). It also tightened rules on peer-to-peer crypto trading.
Meanwhile, the SEC published its own draft rules for stablecoin issuers on August 20, 2026. Under those rules, stablecoins backed by foreign currency would need reserves of at least 120% while naira-backed and commodity-backed tokens would need 100%, and crypto-backed coins would start at 150%.
Under the SEC’s draft, a digital asset firm would need between 200 million naira (about $140,600) and 2 billion naira (about $1.4 million) in capital, with the highest amount requirement aimed at exchanges and custodians.
The SEC doubled the required capital in a notice in January this year. According to the draft, foreign companies must also appoint someone in Nigeria to represent it.
Critics say the SEC’s requirements help big, established players and hurt small local startups.
Will Nigerians choose a naira stablecoin over dollar coins?
cNGN began a pilot on February 27, 2024. Cryptopolitan reported that it was pitched as an alternative to the eNaira, the government digital currency that failed to catch on. Crypto commentator Rume Ophi linked the eNaira’s weak start to a public view that it was a government tool against the crypto industry.
Nigerians have long preferred dollars to the naira. During the 2024 clampdown on Binance, traders were stocking up on Tether (USDT) as the naira lost value.
CBN Governor Yemi Cardoso said $26 billion moved through Binance in 2023 from sources that could not be identified. Due to the standoff, Nigerian access to the exchange was blocked and Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan was detained.
Nigeria took in more than $92.1 billion in crypto between July 2024 and June 2025, a period where the standoff was still on.
The CBN reportedly opened a test program for stablecoins, known as a sandbox on August 12 this year. The bank is now expected to share the details from the program and hand licenses to companies that passed.
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