Overview

• Emomotimi Agama, director-general of the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission, said the country will welcome stablecoin operators under the Investment and Securities Act 2025 to safeguard its markets.
• The SEC has launched a regulatory sandbox to onboard both local and international stablecoin startups subject to strict risk-management and anti-money laundering protocols.
• The policy shift follows last year’s harsh measures against crypto, including the arrest of Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan and a central bank ban on digital-asset transactions.
• Data from Chainalysis shows Nigeria ranks second globally for crypto adoption, driven by dollar-backed stablecoins used to hedge naira volatility.
• Agama outlined a vision for a Nigerian stablecoin to facilitate cross-border trade from Dakar to Dar es Salaam within five years.