Nigeria plans to introduce a new stablecoin next month
Nigeria's Africa Stablecoin Consortium plans to introduce a compliant Nigerian Naira stablecoin (cNGN stablecoin) on February 27, 2024.
The collaboration includes Nigerian financial institutions, fintech companies, and blockchain experts.
The consortium's primary members include notable Nigerian tier-1 banks such as First Bank, Access Bank, Sterling Bank, and Providus Bank, payment providers Budpay, Kora (previously KoraPay), and Interswitch, as well as blockchain experts Convexity and Interstellar.
The cNGN stablecoin is now being promoted as a replacement for eNaira, which has failed to take off despite receiving billions of dollars in funding from the Central Bank of Nigeria under Governor Godwin Emefiele, and is now expected to benefit the country's economy.
According to Dayo Olusegun, an advisor to Nigeria's President, "the cNGN will allow users to transact anywhere in the world. Users can also buy and sell commodities using the official Central Bank of Nigeria rate."
He explained that the stablecoin is intended to remove the typical difficulties of currency conversion and high foreign transaction costs.
The announcement also mentions that cNGN is similar to other stable coins and will be included to the list of currencies that may be traded anywhere in the world.