Economy
Stablecoins Bridging Crypto, Traditional Finance in Nigeria—IMF
By Adedapo Adesanya
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said that stablecoins now form a key bridge between crypto markets and the traditional financial system in Nigeria, ranking the country top in inflows in Sub-Saharan Africa.
According to a new report from the institution, Nigeria received about $59 billion in crypto-asset inflows between July 2023 and June 2024. It ranked second globally on Chainalysis’s 2024 Global Crypto Adoption Index, and sixth in 2025.
Within sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria accounts for roughly 60 per cent of stablecoin inflows since 2019, the report titled Stablecoins in Nigeria: A Growing Cross-Border Channel’ released on Tuesday, noted.
Nigerian households and small firms are moving money across borders in a new way: via smartphones, digital wallets, and US Dollar–pegged crypto assets known as stablecoins.
What began as a niche technology has become a meaningful cross-border payments channel. Its rapid growth is easing long-standing frictions in cross-border transactions.
It is also testing the limits of existing monetary and regulatory frameworks.
IMF noted that the appeal is straightforward, adding that stablecoins allow users with a smartphone and internet access to receive remittances or make cross-border payments in minutes, often at a lower cost than traditional channels.
“For households and small firms with limited access to formal banking services, this is a practical alternative.”
According to the report, global drivers help explain the broader uptake in Nigeria.
“Stablecoins are relatively stable in value, easy to transfer, and widely used as settlement assets within crypto markets.
“They facilitate trading between exchanges and provide a convenient store of liquidity. For remittances, they can undercut conventional channels, where the average cost of sending US$200 to sub-Saharan Africa remains around 9 per cent of transaction value, well above the global average of 6 per cent, according to the World Bank.”
Domestic conditions have amplified these effects. In 2023 and 2024, the sharp depreciation of the naira, high inflation, and constrained access to foreign exchange increased demand for dollar-linked assets.
Stablecoins offered both a hedge against currency risk and a tool for paying overseas suppliers.
After the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) restricted banks from servicing crypto exchanges in February 2021, IMF said activity shifted to less regulated channels, notably peer-to-peer platforms.
The rise of stablecoins in Nigeria brings clear benefits – faster, cheaper cross-border payments can support trade, remittances, and financial inclusion.
However, it said the same features raise policy concerns, including monetary sovereignty. As stablecoins are typically denominated in US Dollars, widespread use can resemble a digital form of dollarisation. By reducing demand for the local currency, the IMF said it could weaken the transmission of domestic monetary policy.
“Another concern is financial integrity. Activity that once flowed through banks is moving increasingly to digital wallets and crypto exchanges.
Monitoring systems designed for traditional intermediaries may not capture these transactions effectively, the report stated, noting that the speed and anonymity of some platforms can also increase risks of illicit finance, including money laundering.
IMF noted that these risks are not unique to Nigeria, but the scale of adoption makes them more pronounced.
The IMF also said Nigeria should adopt a balanced approach to stablecoins by supporting innovation while managing risks. It identified four priorities: maintaining a stable and credible Naira, strengthening oversight of stablecoin issuers, improving data collection on stablecoin transactions, and enhancing payment infrastructure.
The Fund noted that recent economic reforms have helped restore confidence in the naira but urged authorities to align regulations with emerging global standards and improve monitoring through better blockchain and transaction data. It also said further investment in faster and cheaper cross-border payment systems could reduce reliance on unregulated stablecoin channels.
The report noted that stablecoins are neither a passing trend nor a complete substitute for traditional finance, saying they are best seen as a response to persistent frictions in cross-border payments. In Nigeria, those frictions are real, and users have found a workaround.
“The policy challenge is to narrow the gap that made the workaround attractive, while ensuring that new risks remain contained. That requires a clear strategy: open to innovation but anchored in sound macroeconomic policy and effective regulation”, the report concluded.
By Adedapo Adesanya
NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange remained in the negative territory after it further depreciated by 0.64 per cent on Friday, July 24, despite recording four price gainers.
The NASD Security Index (NSI) dropped 27.4 points at the close of business to settle at 4,294.75 points versus the previous day’s 4,383.48 points, while the market capitalisation gave up N16.49 billion to end at N2.577 trillion, in contrast to the N2.594 trillion it ended a day earlier.
The bourse was down during the session amid heavy sell-offs, with the volume of transactions skyrocketing by 693.9 per cent to 2.99 million units from Thursday’s 377,635 units.
Equally, the value of trades went up by 71.6 per cent to N69.4 million from N40.4 million, and the number of deals increased by 41.0 per cent to 55 deals from the preceding day’s 39 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 75.6 million units traded for N5.4 billion.
GNI Plc was also the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million.
The market ended the session with four price gainers and two price losers, led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which lost N7.44 to trade at N136.19 per share compared with the previous day’s N143.63 per share, and CSCS Plc, which declined by N1.64 to N93.63 per unit from N95.27 per unit.
But MRS Oil gained N13.50 to sell at N148.50 per share versus N135.00 per share, Afriland Properties Plc advanced by 56 Kobo to N17.41 per unit from N16.85 per unit, UBN Property Plc surged by 18 Kobo to N1.93 per share from N1.75 per share, and Food Concepts Plc climbed by 1 Kobo to N2.50 per unit from N2.49 per unit.
By Dipo Olowookere
Nigeria’s stock exchange succumbed to profit-taking on Friday, losing 0.19 per cent when the closing gong was hit at 4 pm.
Shares in the banking and energy sectors influenced the decline suffered by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited during the session, as they respectively closed lower by 0.40 per cent and 0.04 per cent.
The industrial goods index was flat yesterday, while the insurance counter gained 0.68 per cent and the consumer goods space chalked up 0.25 per cent. The gains by these two segments could not keep Customs Street in the green territory at the close of business.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) retreated by 474.00 points to 247,357.40 points from 247,831.40 points, and the market capitalisation decreased by N306 billion to N159.588 trillion from N159.894 trillion.
Presco dropped 10.00 per cent during the trading day to close at N2,070.00, Thomas Wyatt crumbled by 9.93 per cent to N3.63, Trans-Nationwide Express plunged by 8.44 per cent to N2.82, Royal Exchange slipped by 7.86 per cent to N1.29, and LivingTrust Mortgage Bank shrank by 7.32 per cent to N3.80.
On the flip side, C&I Leasing improved by 9.48 per cent to N6.35, Cornerstone Insurance rose by 9.09 per cent to N6.00, RT Briscoe jumped by 8.61 per cent to N13.25, Honeywell Flour expanded by 7.38 per cent to N17.45, and Africa Prudential increased by 6.98 per cent to N13.80.
Despite the poor performance, the local bourse recorded a positive market breadth index after finishing with 35 price gainers and 25 price losers, representing strong investor sentiment.
It was a relatively quiet market on Friday, as the activity level dropped, with the trading volume down by 27.72 per cent to 565.5 million units from 782.4 million units, and the trading value contracted by 46.89 per cent to N29.9 billion from N56.3 billion, while the number of deals executed by investors soared by 16.03 per cent to 53,688 deals from 46,273 deals.
Access Holdings was the busiest stock for the session, with a turnover of 128.0 million units sold for N3.8 billion, First Holdco transacted 35.4 million units worth N4.3 billion, Chams exchanged 34.8 million units valued at N154.3 million, Zenith Bank traded 30.4 million units for N3.9 billion, and UBA sold 30.4 million units worth N1.5 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira marked a whole week of appreciation against the United States Dollar on Friday, July 24, further gaining N5.67 or 0.41 per cent to close at N1,362.09/$1 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) compared with N1,367.76/$1 it ended on Thursday.
Equally, the local currency appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official FX market yesterday by N10.83 to trade at N1,813.62/£1 versus the preceding day’s N1,824.45/£1, and improved against the Euro by N7.68 to settle at N1,549.10/€1, in contrast to the N1,556.78/€1 it was exchanged a day earlier.
However, at the parallel market and GTBank forex counter, the Nigerian currency remained unchanged against the greenback during the session at N1,400/$1 and N1,379/$1, respectively.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) buffer has been strengthened with sustained foreign portfolio inflows and robust foreign reserves, which stand above $52 billion.
The apex bank’s policy signals that the Naira will be stronger in the near term, with Nigeria clearing hurdles with FX reforms and settlement of all backlogs.
However, some traders expect that pressure may come due to foreign-currency buying from fuel importers as they make Dollar purchases to build inventories.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin (BTC), in the digital currency landscape, trimmed recent gains as it fell by 2.3 per cent to $63,787.73.
The weak action in the AI momentum trade is feeding through to crypto as well.
Further, Cardano (ADA) dropped 3.7 per cent to close at $0.1615, Solana (SOL) dipped by 2.8 per cent to $73.71, Ripple (XRP) crashed by 2.3 per cent to $1.08, Ethereum (ETH) slid by 1.9 per cent to $1,851.58, Dogecoin (DOGE) retreated by 0.8 per cent to $0.0694, Binance Coin (BNB) contracted by 0.7 per cent to $564.18, and TRON (TRX) lost 0.5 per cent to trade at $0.3292, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.
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