The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has published new stablecoin rules that bring wallets, exchanges and peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto platforms serving Nigerians under its licensing net, and reports say they took effect on Thursday, November 5, 2026. The document, titled Regulations for the Operations of Non-Security Virtual Assets in Nigeria, creates separate licences for naira-backed and foreign-currency stablecoins, bans algorithmic stablecoins outright and stops issuers from paying interest on the coins people hold.
If you buy, hold or receive dollar stablecoins such as USDT through an app, the rules decide which platforms can keep offering that service to you. They apply to any provider carrying out a regulated activity for people in Nigeria “whether or not that person maintains a physical presence in Nigeria”, which puts foreign platforms in scope as well as local ones.
Wallets, exchanges and P2P desks all need a CBN licence now
The regulations name issuers, foreign issuers, distributors, exchanges, wallet providers, custodians, payment providers and P2P platforms. Each needs the right licence or authorisation, and the CBN has set out several categories, including a Class 1 licence for naira-referenced stablecoin issuers, a Class 2 licence for foreign-currency issuers, licences and authorisations for other service providers, and a separate licence for deposit money tokens. Banks and other institutions the CBN already licenses need its approval to extend their permitted activities into this area.
The CBN covers stablecoins and virtual assets used for payments, transfers, remittances, foreign exchange and settlement, while the Securities and Exchange Commission keeps oversight of anything that counts as a security, and a firm doing both needs approval from both regulators. Reports on the rules say existing operators have 180 days to apply for the licence that fits what they do. The rules also require customer due diligence, sanctions screening, transaction monitoring and the Travel Rule, which means sending and receiving platforms share information about who’s behind a transfer.
Dollar stablecoins have to come through a Nigerian company
Under the rules, no foreign-currency stablecoin can be offered, distributed, marketed, exchanged or held in custody for people in Nigeria unless the CBN has approved it as a Class 2 stablecoin issued through a Class 2 licensed issuer, which has to be a company incorporated in Nigeria. Class 2 issuers must hold operational liquidity of at least US$10 million. Even an approved dollar stablecoin can’t be used to “settle, price or discharge a domestic obligation denominated in Naira”, unless another law expressly allows it.
A naira stablecoin, by contrast, must “reference the Naira one-to-one” and be fully backed by naira-denominated reserve assets, and its approved uses include payments and settlement. The regulations don’t say anything about individuals being barred from holding stablecoins they already own. What changes is which platforms are allowed to sell, hold and move those coins for you.
Five kinds of token are now banned in Nigeria
The CBN lists five categories of prohibited tokens that can’t be issued, offered, distributed or traded in Nigeria. These are algorithmic stablecoins, which try to hold their value mainly through supply and demand mechanisms rather than reserves, tokens that reference a fiat currency but are backed mostly by other crypto assets, tokens issued by or for sanctioned persons, stablecoins that don’t give holders an enforceable right to redeem at par, and any other token the CBN decides poses an unacceptable risk to monetary or financial stability.
For holders, the consumer protection rules are the part with immediate value. Issuers can’t pay or arrange interest or yield on stablecoin holdings, providers can’t use customer assets for their own purposes, and redemption has to remain available at par within the prescribed period. P2P platforms must publish specified disclosures and run complaints and dispute procedures, with transaction limits set by the CBN.
What to check in your crypto app this month
Look out for notices from your exchange or wallet about licensing, extra identity checks or changes to P2P trading, and read them before you move money. Be wary of any app or vendor promising interest on dollar stablecoins, since the rules forbid issuers from offering yield on holdings. Advertising has to be “fair, clear and not misleading”, so a platform shouting about guaranteed returns is a red flag in itself.
If something goes wrong with a transfer, the same habits that protect you with a bank apply here, which we covered in our guide to what the CBN expects when money goes to the wrong account. Keep your transaction IDs and screenshots, and use the platform’s official complaints channel, now that P2P providers are required to have one.
The 180-day window means most apps won’t change overnight, but the platforms that plan to keep serving Nigerians will have to show the CBN who they are, where your coins are held and how you get your money back. Over the next six months, that licence status is the first thing to confirm before you keep large savings in any stablecoin app.
