ChainCatcher, citing a report from The Block, said the International Monetary Fund has identified the broad adoption of dollar-pegged stablecoins in Nigeria as a challenge to the country’s existing monetary policy and regulatory framework. According to the IMF, the trend is tied to domestic currency and foreign-exchange conditions, including naira depreciation, high inflation and restricted access to official foreign exchange.
The IMF said Nigerian households and small and medium-sized enterprises have turned to stablecoins for cross-border payments and for hedging exchange-rate risk. Dollar-pegged stablecoins are generally designed to maintain a value relationship with the U.S. dollar; in the IMF’s description, their use in Nigeria is centered on payment needs and exchange-rate risk management.
The report does not focus on a single platform or token. Instead, it describes the wider use of dollar-linked stablecoins among Nigerian households and SMEs, and the pressure that such adoption places on the implementation of monetary policy and the country’s regulatory arrangements.