Nigeria’s CBN tells dollar-stablecoin issuers to go local or lose retail access

Nigeria's central bank has told dollar-stablecoin issuers that they must establish local entities and obtain local issuer and token approvals, or lose Class 2 retail access. Continued Class 2 access during the assessment period requires express CBN permission, and foreign licenses cannot substitute for local approvals. The move raises compliance costs and could restrict retail distribution for dollar-pegged stablecoins in one of Africa's largest crypto markets, a headwind for issuers reliant on foreign licensing.