cNGN, Africa’s first regulated stablecoin, has secured important funding from Adaverse, a Riyadh-based Enterprise Capital agency, due to its fast adoption and increasing transaction quantity.
Launched in February 2025, cNGN’s adoption and transaction quantity have constantly climbed, reaching 600 million minted tokens in July, up from 66.1 million tokens in February.
Vincent Li, Founding Associate at Adaverse, commented on LinkedIn, saying, “We’re excited to be investing within the workforce behind Africa’s first regulated stablecoin, cNGN. cNGN entered the market in February as Africa’s homegrown reply to US dollar-dominated stablecoins.
“Sub-Saharan Africa leads world stablecoin adoption at 9.3%, and Nigeria alone has 26 million customers. Nevertheless, most adoption was beforehand taking place by means of offshore tokens like USDT and USDC.”
Li added that African customers wanted one thing constructed for native wants, explaining the first goal behind the creation of the stablecoin.
cNGN’s distinctive place as Africa’s regulated stablecoin has attracted help from Nigerian banks, fintechs, and regulators, underlining its central position within the area’s monetary evolution.
The stablecoin mission, managed by WrappedCBDC Ltd, is supported by Keystone Financial institution and Quidax Nigeria, the nation’s indigenous crypto alternate, within the capability of integration and general improvement.
Additional increasing cNGN’s utility, Xend Finance launched a function permitting investments in short-term Nigerian securities.
The cNGN turned absolutely SEC-compliant after receiving Approval-in-Precept (AIP) from the Nigerian Securities and Trade Fee (SEC) on August 29, 2024. This was granted below the Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Program (ARIP), earlier than its public launch in February 2025.
Africa’s first regulated stablecoin
A 2024 Chainalysis report revealed that Africa has the best stablecoin adoption price globally, at 9.3%, with Nigeria’s 25.9 million customers main the best way in stablecoin adoption.
In sub-Saharan Africa, stablecoins account for 43% of crypto transaction quantity, with Nigeria main at $22 billion in transactions.
By the second quarter of 2025, the whole world market capitalisation of stablecoins had reached $230 billion. Throughout this era, Africa’s share grew quickly because of the continent’s increasing utility of stablecoins.
In Africa, Stablecoins are used for a wide range of functions, together with funds, remittances, and as a hedge in opposition to inflation.
Earlier than cNGN’s arrival, the stablecoin market was dominated by Tether (USDT) and Circle (USDC), two world powerhouses.
cNGN joined the fray after its launch, turning into the primary African regulated stablecoin to safe SEC compliance.
Uyoyo Ogedegbe, Managing Director at Wrapped CBDC Restricted, informed Adaverse in a latest interview that cNGN is privately issued, absolutely backed 1:1 by naira reserves, and operates on public, open blockchain networks.
He contrasted, “CBDCs just like the eNaira are issued and managed by the Central Financial institution on a closed, permissioned blockchain.”
Uyoyo additional defined that this distinction adjustments all the things, from accessibility to how the token can be utilized, distinguishing cNGN from the eNaira.
In his interview with Adaverse, Uyoyo outlined the first use case of the cNGN.
P2P merchants can use the indigenous stablecoin to swap USD stablecoins and naira extra effectively. The cNGN can be used for financial savings and yield merchandise (as much as 20% p.a. on Xend Finance).
The mission facilitates cross-border funds by way of Muda, Noblocks, and Fincra, and digital and bodily debit playing cards from Web3 neobanks
Optimistic numbers all spherical
From a data-driven perspective, cNGN’s regular development since launch justifies its broad monetary and regulatory help.
Uyoyo defined that they’re seeing extra day-to-day transactions, not simply giant transfers, and that incentives from reserve yields are shared with distributors to drive adoption.
The cNGN mission noticed important will increase in minted tokens after its launch. On February 13, 2025, 66.1m cNGN had been minted, which elevated to 60m by July 22, 2025, demonstrating sturdy adoption throughout this era.
When it comes to on-chain exercise, cNGN information important numbers with 811 pockets addresses and 55,198 on-line transactions as of Q3 2025.
Concurrently, complete buying and selling quantity stands at 16.8 billion, with a 24-hour buying and selling quantity of 246.9 million in accordance with its official web site.
These outcomes underscore cNGN’s regular development and rising adoption, validating new investments and up to date partnerships.
Controversies and criticism
The cNGN mission just isn’t with out its challenges, as itemizing throughout main exchanges stays a big hurdle.
The Africa Stablecoin Consortium (ASC) reportedly held talks with crypto exchanges Yellow Card and Roqqu to listing cNGN, Africa’s first regulated stablecoin.
Each exchanges confirmed holding discussions with the consortium however declined the provide, citing varied causes.
At the moment, cNGN is listed on indigenous Nigerian exchanges, Busha and Quidax. Nevertheless, the stablecoin has but to safe a list on a Pan-African alternate that serves the broader African market.
Jason Marshall, CEO of Yellow Card, cited capital backing and verified reserves because the minimal necessities for itemizing, stating that the corporate takes regulatory initiatives critically however stays selective in its method.
Eseoghene Onomor, CEO of Roqqu, gave comparable causes for the decline, noting that the alternate’s itemizing priorities should be pushed by consumer demand, which stays low for the cNGN mission.
Uyoyo Ogedegbe declined to touch upon latest funding and different developments as of press time.
