Banks, asset managers and financial technology companies are considering offering stablecoins and other digital asset services to their customers as cryptocurrency adoption expands in Nigeria, according to the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Quidax, Buchi Okoro.

The growing institutional interest could take digital assets beyond individual cryptocurrency traders and into mainstream financial services, including cross-border payments, business transactions and international money transfers.

Okoro said Quidax was positioning itself to support financial institutions and businesses seeking to enter the market by providing the necessary infrastructure and regulatory support, with emphasis on compliance, transparency and customer trust.

He spoke recently at The Exchange, an invitation-only event on stablecoins and digital assets hosted by Quidax in partnership with Tether, the issuer of USDT, in Lagos.

The event brought together regulators, financial technology executives, industry leaders and legal and audit professionals.

“Over the next five years, our focus is on supporting the ecosystem around us.

More and more institutions, banks, asset managers, fintechs and businesses across every sector are considering how to bring stablecoins and digital assets to their own customers,” Okoro said.

Okoro added that the company intended to become a trusted partner to institutions entering the market through infrastructure provision, business education and adherence to professional and compliance standards.

The interest comes amid growing stablecoin adoption in Nigeria, where dollar-pegged digital assets are increasingly being used for foreign currency transactions and cross-border payments.

Stablecoins are digital tokens designed to maintain a relatively stable value by being pegged to an underlying asset, commonly the US dollar.

Unlike cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, whose prices fluctuate significantly, dollar-backed stablecoins such as Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC are designed to maintain a one-to-one value with the US dollar.

Their appeal in emerging markets stems partly from their use in transferring money across borders, settling international transactions, and accessing dollar-linked assets through cryptocurrency platforms.

In a June 2026 analysis of stablecoin use in Nigeria, the International Monetary Fund noted that households and small businesses were increasingly using digital wallets and dollar-pegged crypto assets to move money internationally.

Nigeria received approximately $59bn in crypto asset inflows between July 2023 and June 2024, according to the IMF.

The fund also estimated that the country accounted for about 60 per cent of stablecoin inflows into sub-Saharan Africa between late 2019 and early 2025.

The IMF identified stablecoins as an important....