John Chinedu Enechukwu

Nigeria just told Tether and Circle: Come home, or go home. On November 5, the CBN released new rules for stablecoins and virtual asset businesses operating in Nigeria. The message is clear: if you want to issue stablecoins or provide certain crypto services to Nigerians, you must meet local licensing, incorporation and capital requirements. Here’s what matters: 1. The capital bar is high. ₦10bn for Naira stablecoin issuers. ₦15bn for foreign-currency stablecoin issuers. ₦1bn for other VASPs, alongside applicable SEC requirements. 2. Foreign issuers must establish locally. A foreign licence alone won’t cut it. Foreign-currency stablecoins must go through a Nigerian-incorporated issuer with the appropriate CBN licence. 3. Reserves and transparency are non-negotiable. The rules require 1:1 backing, reserve safeguards and monthly attestations. Yield-bearing arrangements face restrictions, while algorithmic stablecoins, as defined by the framework, are prohibited. 4. Existing operators have a transition period. They have 180 days to apply, with interim conditions on continued operations, registration and reporting. This is not an unrestricted grace period. But there’s another layer. On October 29, the SEC clarified that no digital asset operator had secured final registration under its ARIP framework. Approval in principle is not the same as a final operating licence. Now, the CBN framework adds another licensing layer for businesses distributing, exchanging or handling these assets. The issuers got a rulebook. The distributors now have two regulatory doors to get through. This doesn’t mean crypto businesses have stopped operating. It means the path to full regulatory approval is becoming more demanding. And the timing matters. Nigeria already has a massive stablecoin market. People use stablecoins to save, receive money, make payments and settle transactions. Adoption came before the rulebook. The next 180 days will show whether the infrastructure can catch up. Watch how Tether and Circle respond, how exchanges navigate both regulators, and whether local stablecoin infrastructure like cNGN gains ground. The market was already here. Now the infrastructure has to catch up.