CBN Issues Non-Security Virtual Asset Rules With ₦10bn–₦15bn Stablecoin Capital Floors
Nigeria’s central bank has published Regulations for the Operations of Non-Security Virtual Assets, with media citing a 5 November 2026 circular as the effective date: Class 1 naira issuers need ₦10bn paid-up capital, Class 2 foreign-currency issuers ₦15bn, Other Services ₦1bn, algorithmic tokens banned, and FX-referenced coins only via Nigerian-incorporated Class 2 issuers.
By Margaret Liu, Journalist, CBDCs and Regulation
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued Regulations for the Operations of Non-Security Virtual Assets in Nigeria, a licensing and oversight framework for stablecoins, Deposit Money Tokens and related virtual-asset payment services. Multiple Nigerian outlets report that accompanying circular PSP/DIR/PUB/CIR/001/004, signed by Payments System Policy Department director Musa I. Jimoh, is dated 5 November 2026 and that the regulations take effect from that date. The regulations PDF itself, opened for this article, is dated November 2026 and states in Section 56.1 that the Bank will specify the commencement date in the issuing instrument; NextCurrency did not independently open that circular PDF.
The instrument is an in-force licensing framework, not a live product launch. It creates paid-up capital floors of ₦10 billion for Class 1 naira-referenced issuers, ₦15 billion for Class 2 foreign-currency issuers and ₦1 billion for Other Non-Security Virtual Asset Services, bans algorithmic and several other token types, and requires foreign-currency stablecoins offered to persons in Nigeria to be issued through a Nigerian-incorporated Class 2 licensee with Token Approval.
What the regulations cover
The regulations PDF says the framework covers issuance, distribution, exchange or conversion, fiat on- and off-ramps, custody and wallets, payment gateway and merchant acceptance, remittance, clearing and settlement, and related activities when carried out in or from Nigeria, directed at persons in Nigeria, or otherwise within the stated jurisdictional scope. Regulated Tokens include Class 1 Naira-Referenced Stablecoins, Class 2 Foreign Currency-Referenced Stablecoins, Deposit Money Tokens and Other Designated Tokens.
Securities and capital-market virtual assets remain with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The CBN document states that nothing in the guidelines displaces the SEC’s statutory mandate and that activities spanning both mandates need approvals from each competent authority.
Capital floors and issuer architecture
Section 15 of the regulations requires Class 1 Licensed Issuers to maintain paid-up capital of ten billion naira (₦10,000,000,000) and Class 2 Licensed Issuers fifteen billion naira (₦15,000,000,000), or higher amounts the Bank may prescribe, on entry and at all times. Section 16 sets a one-billion-naira (₦1,000,000,000) floor for Other Non-Security Virtual Asset Services; where the firm also holds a SEC licence, that amount is additional and the same capital cannot be counted twice.
Section 6 requires Class 1 and Class 2 issuers to be incorporated in Nigeria. A foreign-currency-referenced stablecoin may be offered, marketed, distributed, exchanged, custody-held, redeemed or otherwise made available to persons in Nigeria only as a Class 2 Stablecoin issued through a Nigerian-incorporated Class 2 licensee. The text states that a foreign licence or arrangement with a Nigerian intermediary does not substitute for that licence or for Token Approval.
Prohibitions and systemic designation
Section 2.2 prohibits issuing, offering, distributing or trading in Nigeria: algorithmic stablecoins (stable value sought mainly through algorithmic supply adjustment rather than full eligible-reserve backing); fiat-referenced tokens backed wholly or primarily by other virtual assets; tokens linked to sanctioned persons or jurisdictions; purported stablecoins without an enforceable right of redemption at par; and any other token the Bank determines poses unacceptable risk.
A Class 1 or Class 2 stablecoin may be designated systemic where naira-equivalent circulating supply exceeds ₦500 billion on each day for thirty consecutive days, or where it is held or used by more than five million persons in Nigeria, with discretionary designation also available on volume and concentration indicators.
Transition for existing operators
Section 54.1 gives an existing operator 180 calendar days from commencement to apply for the appropriate licence or authorisation. During that window it may continue only at its existing scale and subject to interim conditions, provided it registers within thirty days, complies with AML/CFT/CPF requirements from commencement, begins supervisory reporting within sixty days or an earlier prescribed period, and submits a complete application within the transition period. Failure to submit in time requires cessation until licensed. Existing Class 2 arrangements are assessed against Nigerian incorporation and licensing rules; continued access during assessment needs the Bank’s express interim permission.
Commercial reading
For payments desks, the binding near-term clock is the 30-day registration step, not only the 180-day application window. The Class 2 local-issuer mandate is the structural change for dollar- and other FX-referenced coins directed at Nigerian users: offshore issuance plus a local distributor is not enough under the text NextCurrency opened. Treat media-reported 5 November 2026 effectiveness as grounded in the circular citations those outlets attribute to Jimoh, while treating the regulations PDF as the primary source for capital, prohibitions, licensing architecture and transition mechanics. This article does not invent volumes, applicant lists or enforcement actions that the documents do not contain.