By Boluwatife Oshadiya | February 23, 2026
Key Points
- Nigeria processed nearly $22 billion in stablecoin transactions between July 2023 and June 2024, according to industry data
- Stablecoins now dominate Sub-Saharan Africa’s crypto volume, accounting for roughly 43% of activity
- Bitcoin remains a $2 trillion asset class but is primarily used as a store of value, not for business settlements
- Regulatory clarity under Nigeria’s Investments and Securities Act 2025 is accelerating stablecoin institutional adoption
Nigeria and South Africa are leading stablecoin demand growth among Africa’s largest economies, as businesses increasingly prefer price-stable digital assets over Bitcoin for cross-border payments and treasury management.
A February 18, 2026 report by Reuters, citing blockchain analytics data, shows that stablecoins are gaining traction across emerging markets, with Nigeria emerging as a major transaction hub. Between July 2023 and June 2024, Nigeria processed nearly $22 billion in stablecoin transactions, representing roughly 43% of Sub-Saharan Africa’s total crypto volume.
Stablecoins — digital tokens pegged one-to-one to fiat currencies such as the US dollar — are increasingly used for trade settlement, payroll, remittances, and savings preservation in economies facing currency volatility.
By contrast, Bitcoin remains the world’s largest cryptocurrency, with a market capitalization approaching $2 trillion as of January 2026. However, its volatility — often swinging 5–10% within a week — limits its utility for predictable business transactions.
According to Trust Wallet, stablecoins function as blockchain-based representations of fiat currency, enabling near-instant settlement without the price fluctuations associated with non-pegged cryptocurrencies.
Nigeria’s macroeconomic context has amplified this shift. The naira depreciated sharply between 2023 and 2025, while inflation remained elevated above 20% in mid-2025. In this environment, stablecoins such as USDT and USDC have become digital hedges against currency risk.
Industry data from Chainalysis shows that stablecoins now account for more than half of on-chain crypto transaction volume globally, underscoring their transition from trading tools to payment infrastructure.
The Issues
1. Volatility vs Operational Certainty
Bitcoin’s fixed supply of 21 million coins makes it attractive as “digital gold.” However, volatility introduces accounting and pricing risks for enterprises. A 7% intraday swing can materially affect invoice value, payroll obligations, or supplier settlements.
Stablecoins eliminate that exposure by maintaining a peg to sovereign currencies. For high-volume payment environments, this stability reduces treasury risk and improves balance-sheet predictability.
2. Governance and Counterparty Risk
Bitcoin operates on a decentralized blockchain without issuer oversight. This eliminates counterparty risk but provides limited compliance structure.
Stablecoins, by contrast, depend on issuer-managed reserves. According to Agama Emomotimi (2025), in Stablecoins and National Security: Implications for Nigeria’s Regulatory Landscape, inadequate oversight could create vulnerabilities related to money laundering, capital flight, and monetary policy erosion.
Nigeria’s Investments and Securities Act 2025 now brings digital assets under Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) supervision, requiring reserve backing, AML compliance, and regulatory reporting.
3. Network Design and Interoperability
Bitcoin operates primarily on its native blockchain, with Layer-2 solutions such as Lightning improving throughput but still limited in mainstream enterprise usage.
Stablecoins circulate across multiple networks — Ethereum, Tron, Solana, Polygon — enabling businesses to optimize transaction costs and settlement speed. This multi-chain interoperability makes stablecoins more adaptable to trade finance, e-commerce, and remittance flows.
4. Dollarization Risk
While stablecoins offer protection against local currency depreciation, large-scale adoption may contribute to “crypto-dollarization,” reducing domestic monetary control. Agama warns that widespread stablecoin use could weaken seigniorage revenue and complicate monetary policy transmission. The policy challenge is balancing financial innovation with macroeconomic stability.
What’s Being Said
According to the February 18, 2026 Reuters report, blockchain analytics data indicates that emerging markets are increasingly turning to stablecoins for practical economic needs rather than speculation, with Nigeria among the leading jurisdictions driving this demand.
Nigeria Communications Week reports that Nigeria and South Africa are central to Africa’s stablecoin spending growth, reflecting strong fintech integration and currency volatility pressures.
In his peer-reviewed study published in the International Journal of Cryptocurrency Research, Agama Emomotimi of the Securities and Exchange Commission warns that the ease of cross-border stablecoin transfers could expose regulatory gaps if oversight frameworks are not strengthened, particularly in AML/CFT enforcement.
Meanwhile, industry participants maintain that fiat-backed stablecoins — particularly those publishing regular reserve attestations — are increasingly viewed as compliant digital payment instruments rather than speculative crypto assets.
What’s Next
- SEC implementation guidelines under the Investments and Securities Act 2025 are expected to clarify licensing requirements for stablecoin issuers operating in Nigeria
- Cross-border trade platforms are piloting stablecoin settlement for SME importers
- Regional regulatory harmonization discussions may align Nigeria with global frameworks such as the EU’s MiCA regime
- Institutional custody and banking partnerships are likely to expand stablecoin treasury services for corporates in 2026
The Bottom Line:
Bitcoin remains a powerful decentralized reserve asset, but for Nigerian businesses navigating currency volatility and cross-border trade friction, stablecoins are emerging as the practical infrastructure layer of digital finance. The competitive edge in 2026 is not ideological decentralization — it is price stability, interoperability, and regulatory clarity.
