Nigeria’s first regulated naira-backed stablecoin, cNGN, is now live on the Celo blockchain. The token, issued by WrappedCBDC Limited under the oversight of Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission, is pegged 1:1 to the naira and backed by reserves held at approved commercial banks.
The deployment positions cNGN for use in low-cost remittances, on-chain foreign exchange, DeFi lending and borrowing, and everyday payments. Celo, which has focused on stablecoin payments and financial inclusion, now hosts 32 fiat-backed stablecoins. cNGN becomes the eighth such asset to launch on the network in a short period.
Cross-chain liquidity network Textile FX is a launch partner, enabling swaps between cNGN and Tether’s USDT with institutional liquidity support. Textile FX reported onboarding 78 OTC and cross-border payment companies in Nigeria ahead of the launch and clearing more than $4 million in related volume the previous month. Celo Core Co. plans to begin a governance process that could allow cNGN to be used as a gas token, simplifying transactions for users.
At the time of launch reports, cNGN had a circulating supply of roughly ₦2.5 billion, cumulative trading volume of about ₦214 billion, and more than 8,000 holders. Reserve attestations are audited and published monthly.
Nigeria remains one of Africa’s largest crypto markets and a major destination for remittances. Dollar-backed stablecoins already see heavy use for payments, savings and cross-border transfers. A regulated naira-denominated alternative that can move on low-cost rails offers a complementary option for local-currency settlement and reduces some of the friction of converting into and out of foreign stablecoins.
Uyoyo Ogedegbe, managing director at cNGN, said the Celo integration extends the stablecoin’s reach into one of the deepest stablecoin ecosystems and supports scalable real-world use cases across Africa. Markus Franke of Celo Core Co. highlighted the near-zero transfer costs and instant settlement that the network provides.
Whether cNGN gains meaningful traction will depend on liquidity depth, merchant and payment-provider adoption, and continued regulatory clarity. For now, the listing gives Nigerian users and developers a compliant local-currency asset on a network designed for high-volume, low-cost stablecoin activity.
