Nigeria tells dollar-stablecoin issuers: go local or lose retail access

Nigeria’s central bank now requires dollar-pegged stablecoins offered to retail customers to be issued by locally incorporated, licensed entities and receive token approval. The rules took effect November 5, 2026, with a conditional 180-day application transition for existing operators. Continued access for foreign-currency stablecoin arrangements during assessment requires express permission from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The CBN regulations classify foreign-currency stablecoins as Class 2. Section 6.5 requires a Nigerian-incorporated entity holding a Foreign Currency Issuer License (Class 2), alongside approval of the token itself.

A foreign license, regulatory status or agreement with a Nigerian intermediary cannot substitute for those approvals. The rules reach regulated activities directed at people in Nigeria even when the provider has no physical presence there.

Issuers and service providers face distinct approval requirements. Non-issuance service licenses or authorizations do not permit stablecoin issuance, while issuer applicants must establish a staffed Nigerian office and effective local management before final licensing, including a resident chief compliance officer.

The framework makes a narrow exception to local issuance. Section 11.10.17 allows the CBN to recognize a foreign-issued stablecoin solely for expressly approved wholesale cross-border settlement. That route excludes offerings to Nigerian retail customers, so it does not provide a substitute for the retail licensing requirements.

Approval also has limits on domestic use. Class 2 Token Approval does not authorize settling, pricing or discharging a naira-denominated domestic obligation unless applicable foreign-exchange or other law expressly permits it.

The regulations preserve the Securities and Exchange Commission’s statutory jurisdiction and do not automatically cancel approvals under other Nigerian frameworks. An existing principal license nevertheless does not remove the need for express CBN approval for non-security virtual asset services.

What Nigeria’s transition permits

Section 54.1 gives existing operators 180 calendar days from commencement to submit a complete application for the appropriate license or authorization. They may continue only at their existing scale and subject to the CBN’s interim conditions.

The transition also requires registration with the bank within 30 days and supervisory reporting within 60 days, or an earlier prescribed period. Anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing and counter-proliferation financing requirements apply from commencement.

For existing Class 2 arrangements, the CBN will assess Nigerian incorporation, issuer licensing and service-provider approvals. Continued access during that assessment requires the bank’s express interim permission and does not create a permanent exemption. Submitting an application alone therefore does not establish permission to keep serving the market.

Operators that miss the application deadline must cease operating until the necessary license or authorization is obtained.