Nigeria's Central Bank issues regulatory guidelines for non-securities virtual assets; foreign currency stablecoins must be issued locally with a license.

November 6: The Central Bank of Nigeria has issued the "Regulations on the Operation of Non-Securities Virtual Assets in Nigeria," establishing a licensing framework for the issuance, exchange, custody, payment, and other activities of stablecoins, deposit money tokens, and related virtual asset service providers; securities-based virtual assets remain under the regulation of the Nigeria Securities and Exchange Commission.

The regulations classify stablecoins into two categories: Naira stablecoins and foreign currency stablecoins. Foreign currency stablecoins must be issued by entities registered in Nigeria and holding the corresponding issuance license, and can only be offered to local users after approval by the Central Bank; foreign licenses cannot substitute. The minimum paid-in capital for the two types of issuers is 10 billion Naira and 15 billion Naira, approximately $7.41 million and $11.12 million, respectively; other service providers require 1 billion Naira, approximately $740,000. Stablecoins must be fully reserved 1:1 with an additional 2% overcollateralization, and holders can redeem at face value by the next business day; issuers may not pay interest or returns to holders; algorithmic stablecoins and fiat stablecoins primarily backed by crypto assets are prohibited. Existing operators must apply for a license within 180 days after the regulations take effect and register with the Central Bank within 30 days; during the transition period, they may only maintain their existing business scale, and P2P trading platforms are equally subject.