USA Africa Dialogue Series - Nigeria Needs Its Own GENIUS Act

 What the U.S. Stablecoin Law Teaches About Building Nigeria's Digital Economy

 John Onyeukwu

   The United States, once cautious on cryptocurrencies, has now embraced a structured leap forward. On July 18, 2025, President Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act into law, creating the first comprehensive federal framework for stablecoins. It is a bold convergence of regulatory innovation, financial pragmatism, and geopolitical strategy.

    For those of us in the Global South, and particularly here in Nigeria, this moment should not just be observed, it should provoke introspection. The GENIUS Act teaches us that digital assets are not fringe technologies; they are now at the heart of national economic and political strategy. The urgent question before us is this: Will Nigeria innovate to lead, or regulate itself into irrelevance?

     At its philosophical core, the GENIUS Act answers a central question: What is the role of the state in a digitized economic future? It rejects the notion that regulation must kill innovation. Instead, it articulates a moral compact, one where the state protects citizens from abuse while enabling their participation in evolving economic realities.

     In Nigeria, we often treat innovation with suspicion, as though the average citizen lacks the competence or judgment to engage with technology unless micromanaged. This is paternalism disguised as prudence.

Consumer protection is essential, but so too is digital autonomy. Nigerians, especially our youth, have already embraced crypto tools not as a luxury, but as a response to financial exclusion, inflation, and institutional distrust. A Nigerian GENIUS Act must be rooted in dignity,ensuring access, equity, and security, not just control. The GENIUS Act is not just financial regulation; it is political positioning. By requiring stablecoins to be backed by U.S. dollars and Treasuries, America is using regulation to reinforce the dollar's global dominance. This is monetary sovereignty deployed as foreign policy. Here in Nigeria, we treat digital finance as an externality, not as a tool for reinforcing state capacity. Our eNaira rollout lacked coordination and market trust, while private innovation in stablecoins remains unregulated and underground.

    The result? A fragmented digital economy that lacks public accountability and strategic direction.

     What we need is a clear national digital asset policy that positions the naira, not as a relic to be defended at all costs, but as a currency that can evolve. We can allow licensed financial institutions to issue naira backed stablecoins, tied to domestic instruments like Treasury Bills, to deepen our financial markets and regain monetary relevance in a changing world.

    The economic rationale behind the GENIUS Act is straightforward: attract capital, foster innovation, and build institutional trust. It creates a clear entry point for investment while shielding consumers from systemic risk.

     This is exactly what Nigeria needs.

We are sitting on a paradox: one of the largest crypto using populations in Africa, and one of the most regulatory uncertain environments. That gap is bleeding capital, talent, and trust. Investors would not build in jurisdictions where rules change with each agency circular or media outburst.

     To reverse this, Nigeria must stop treating digital assets as speculative noise and start treating them as infrastructure, requiring legal scaffolding, stable regulation, and transparent enforcement.Our Securities and Exchange Commission has made progress with virtual asset service provider (VASP) guidelines, but a piecemeal approach cannot deliver national scale results. We need a Digital Assets Regulatory Framework Act that harmonizes oversight between CBN, SEC, NITDA, and EFCC, with investor protection and innovation promotion at its core.

     Philosophically, politically, and economically, the GENIUS Act is effective because it enjoys top level political backing. President Trump did not leave it to agencies to stumble into coordination. He led with vision, signing Executive Orders on digital assets, creating a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, and calling for fast-track congressional action.

     Nigeria has not yet found that voice.

No Executive Order, no coordinating policy council, no strategic narrative from the presidency. Agencies operate in isolation, often contradicting each other. That vacuum creates confusion, not regulation, and it weakens investor confidence at home and abroad. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, whose administration has rightly championed economic renewal and digital inclusion, must now extend that agenda to the digital asset space. I believe the time has come for him to launch a Presidential Initiative on Digital Assets and Innovation. This would align our institutions, signal clear intent to the market, and create a unified national strategy, just as we have done in the energy and financial inclusion sectors.

     The GENIUS Act is not just about America. It is about how states assert themselves in the emerging digital order. It shows us that regulation, when done well, is not a drag on growth but an engine for it. It proves that consumer protection, innovation, and state sovereignty are not mutually exclusive, they are complementary.

     Nigeria has the human capital, the tech infrastructure, and the market appetite. Our young, innovative population is building platforms, launching startups, and experimenting with blockchain solutions that are already gaining global traction. Our fintech sector is one of Africa's most vibrant, and our diaspora remittances offer a natural use case for stablecoins and digital payments. What we lack is coherent policy direction and legislative courage. Our lawmakers must see regulation not as a threat, but as a tool for shaping the future. We must legislate not from fear, but from vision, crafting laws that unlock innovation rather than stifle it. We must regulate not just to protect today, but to enable tomorrow, to safeguard consumers while fostering market confidence. We must lead not by default, but by design, anchoring our leadership in strategy, collaboration, and purpose. It is time for Nigeria to move from the sidelines to the frontlines of digital economic governance.

     Now is Nigeria's GENIUS moment. Let us meet it with clarity, coordination, and courage.

 (Policy & Reform Column of Business am, of Monday July 28, 2025.)

John Onyeukwu
http://www.policy.hu/onyeukwu/

 http://about.me/onyeukwu
"Let us move forward to fight poverty, to establish equity, and assure peace for the next generation."
-- James D. Wolfensohn
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