Nigeria's central bank issues virtual asset regulations, with a capital threshold of 15 billion naira for foreign currency stablecoin issuers.

The Central Bank of Nigeria has issued a regulatory framework for non-securities virtual assets covering stablecoin issuance, exchange, custody, transfers and settlement, setting a minimum paid-in capital of 15 billion naira for licensed foreign-currency-pegged stablecoin issuers and 10 billion naira for naira-pegged issuers. The rules also require peer-to-peer platforms to verify that the name and bank verification number on a naira payment account match a verified customer before releasing or crediting regulated tokens. The framework matters because it establishes formal capital and identity-check requirements for stablecoin operators in one of Africa's largest crypto markets, where dollar-pegged tokens are widely used for savings and cross-border payments. The bank said the effective date will be specified in a forthcoming document, so the next thing to watch is when the rules take effect and how existing issuers and P2P platforms adjust to the capital and verification requirements.