The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on friday introduced a comprehensive regulatory framework for non-security virtual assets, imposing new licensing, capital and compliance requirements on stablecoin issuers, cryptocurrency service providers, digital-asset custodians and peer-to-peer trading platforms serving Nigerian users.
The rules apply even to firms based outside Nigeria if their services are directed at Nigerians or are likely to affect the country’s payments system, financial system, foreign-exchange market or financial stability.
The Regulations for the Operations of Non-Security Virtual Assets in Nigeria, signed by Musa Jimoh, director of the CBN’s Payments System Policy Department, took effect on November 5, 2026.
The rules establish a licensing and supervisory framework for stablecoins, Deposit Money Tokens, virtual asset service providers, wallets, exchanges, payment firms and platform-facilitated peer-to-peer services.
The CBN says the guidelines are designed to promote responsible innovation while protecting consumers from issuer insolvency, reserve or backing mismanagement, redemption denial, fraud and other conduct risks. They also aim to preserve the effectiveness of monetary policy and the bank’s capacity to monitor capital flows and foreign-exchange dynamics.
For ordinary users, the central question is what changes when they buy, store, trade or convert digital assets?
Your wallet and P2P trades
A crypto wallet is where many Nigerians first encounter digital assets. It may be a self-custody wallet, where the user controls the recovery phrase and private keys, or a custodial wallet, where a company holds or manages assets on behalf of the user.
The new rules cover custody, safekeeping, administration, digital wallets and key-management services. That means wallet providers and custodians that hold or control customers’ digital assets can fall within the CBN’s regulatory perimeter.
The practical implication is that a company holding customers’ tokens cannot simply treat those assets as its own. Firms must safeguard customer assets and maintain corporate governance, risk-management and internal-control systems. They must also comply with technology-risk, cybersecurity and operational-resilience requirements.
For users, on the other hand, that should mean clearer expectations around how their assets are held, what happens if a platform suffers a cyberattack, and how complaints are handled. It does not eliminate risk, however, since a user who loses a recovery phrase or sends tokens to the wrong address may still have limited recourse. But it creates a regulatory basis for demanding stronger custody and consumer protection from service providers.
The CBN’s rules cover platform-facilitated peer-to-peer services. This does not necessarily mean every informal transfer between two individuals is now licensed. But platforms that connect buyers and sellers, provide escrow, facilitate market access or support the transaction can fall within the framework.
In Nigeria, for instance, a buyer transfers naira to a seller’s bank account, while the platform holds the crypto in escrow until payment is confirmed before releasing the tokens. It is this platform role—not the simple transfer of money between two people—that may bring P2P activity within the new framework.
The rules also cover fiat on-ramps and off-ramps—the services that convert naira into regulated tokens and tokens back into naira. They also cover exchanges between regulated tokens and fiat currency, as well as exchanges between different virtual assets.
That is significant because P2P platforms have long been used to convert naira into dollar-linked tokens. By bringing platform-facilitated P2P and conversion services into the rules, the CBN is moving a major part of the market closer to formal oversight.
Users should expect more attention to identity verification, transaction monitoring and record-keeping, as the CBN requires customer due diligence, customer identification and verification, Travel Rule compliance and due diligence on counterparty virtual asset service providers.
It also mandates anti-money-laundering, counter-terrorism-financing and counter-proliferation-financing obligations, sanctions screening, transaction monitoring and blockchain analytics. Platforms may therefore ask for more information, monitor unusual transactions and retain records to demonstrate compliance.
Amina Ibrahim, a fintech expert, explained that this does not mean P2P trading has been outlawed, but that the rules are now tightened, requiring the platforms and wallet providers to operate within a supervised system, with clearer controls around payments, identity and illicit-finance risks.
This, she said, will strengthen customer verification, asset custody and transaction-monitoring controls.
“These rules move platform-facilitated P2P trading and wallet services closer to formal oversight. Users should expect stronger identity checks, clearer disclosures and closer monitoring of transactions, but they should still understand that a platform’s licence does not eliminate the risk of fraud, hacking or sending funds to the wrong address,” Ibrahim said.
Stablecoins are not bank deposits
Stablecoins are digital tokens designed to maintain a stable value, usually against a currency such as the naira or the US dollar. Nigerians, like in other jurisdictions, use them for trading, savings, remittances and as a bridge into dollar-denominated assets.
The CBN has created two main stablecoin categories under the new rules — naira-referenced stablecoins, known as Class 1, and foreign-currency-referenced stablecoins, known as Class 2. It also covers Deposit Money Tokens and other tokens it may designate as regulated because they affect payments, settlement, foreign exchange, banking or financial stability.
The regulator says it will look beyond labels to determine whether a token, arrangement, service or activity falls within the rules based on its economic substance, function and risk characteristics, rather than its name, legal form, marketing description or underlying technology.
For stablecoin holders, the central protection is redemption—the ability to convert tokens back into naira or another fiat currency. Issuers must maintain adequate reserves, liquidity and arrangements to honour those requests.
The CBN says the rules aim to protect holders from issuer insolvency, reserve mismanagement, redemption denial, fraud and other conduct risks.
According to Ibrahim, the reserve backing and redemption arrangements would be central to consumer protection under the new framework.
“The most important protection for stablecoin holders is redemption. Issuers must be able to show that tokens are backed by adequate reserves and that users can convert them back into fiat currency. A CBN licence is not a guarantee of safety; it is a regulatory baseline that firms must meet,” she explained.
The framework also sets minimum paid-up capital requirements. Foreign-currency-referenced stablecoin issuers must maintain N15 billion, while naira-referenced stablecoin issuers require N10 billion. Other virtual asset service providers face a N1 billion threshold. Existing operators have 180 days to apply for the relevant licence or authorisation.
The capital requirements are intended to ensure that firms issuing tokens or holding customer assets can meet their obligations to users.
But the CBN is equally clear about what stablecoins are not. Class 1 and Class 2 stablecoins “shall not be represented as bank deposits or as covered by Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) deposit insurance.”
The clarification is important because a bank deposit is a liability of a licensed bank and may be covered by the NDIC within applicable limits. On the other hand, a stablecoin is a digital token issued by a separate entity, and its safety depends on the issuer’s reserves, governance, liquidity and operational controls.
The rules also restrict promotion. In the new framework, firms cannot promote unlicensed activities, misstate their licensing status, use another person to evade restrictions, or present a licence, token approval or capital deposit as a CBN endorsement or guarantee.
Advertising, the CBN insists, must be fair, clear and not misleading, and must accurately identify the responsible licensee and the applicable risks.
For users, that should reduce vague claims that a token is “safe,” “government-backed” or guaranteed by the central bank, Ibrahim stated.
What the rules do not cover
The new framework does not give the CBN authority over every digital asset. Security virtual assets, securities, investment contracts, collective investment schemes and their tokenised forms remain under the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), while the CBN’s rules focus on non-security virtual assets such as stablecoins and payment-related tokens.
The CBN says its guidelines do not displace or limit the statutory mandate of the SEC or any other competent authority. Where an activity involves both non-security virtual assets and matters under another regulator’s jurisdiction, operators may need approvals from each relevant authority.
The CBN will regulate the payment, settlement, foreign-exchange and financial-stability aspects that fall within its mandate, and may coordinate with other regulators where necessary.
While commending the CBN’s extensive guidelines, Ibrahim said the bigger shift is that Nigeria’s digital-asset market is moving from informal uncertainty towards a regulated system.
“Wallet users, P2P traders and stablecoin holders should now pay closer attention to who operates the platform they use, whether it is licensed, how customer assets are protected, and what happens when they want their money back,” she said.
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Onyinye Nwachukwu is the Abuja Bureau Chief of BusinessDay, overseeing coverage across Abuja and Northern Nigeria. With more than two decades of experience in economic and financial journalism, she reports on business, policy, and market trends, linking local developments to the global economy. A fellow of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and recipient of the P. Vishwanathan Memorial Award for Excellence in Financial Journalism, she is known for her insightful storytelling and interviews with senior policymakers, diplomats, and business leaders. Well traveled and globally minded, Onyinye brings depth and international perspective to her reporting.
