Nigeria's central bank wants licenses and full reserve backing from stablecoin issuers

Nigeria’s central bank has issued new stablecoin rules requiring issuers to obtain a license, meet minimum capital thresholds, and hold full reserve backing for their tokens, while restricting algorithmic stablecoin designs. The framework marks one of Africa’s most explicit regulatory moves on stablecoins, aiming to tighten reserve quality and issuer accountability in a market where crypto adoption is high. Issuers will need to adjust capital and treasury operations to comply, and algorithmic models face the biggest structural change. What to watch next is how existing naira-pegged stablecoins and exchanges adapt their issuance and reserve disclosures ahead of licensing deadlines.