The Africa Stablecoin Consortium (ASC), the developers of Nigeria's first regulatory-approved stablecoin, cNGN, are facing challenges in securing listings on prominent African crypto exchanges, Roqqu and Yellow Card. Despite early talks, neither platform has committed to listing the Naira-backed token, citing concerns over market demand and proven utility.

The ASC has already secured listings on Busha and Quidax, two provisionally licensed Nigerian exchanges. However, expanding to more platforms, especially those with a pan-African presence, is crucial for cNGN's remittance use case. Without firm commitments from major exchanges, the stablecoin's growth remains uncertain.

The reluctance of exchanges to list cNGN poses a significant challenge to its adoption, which hinges on exchange support. Exchanges are hesitant to list the stablecoin without proven demand, while the ASC needs exchange listings to drive adoption. This chicken-and-egg problem threatens to stagnate the stablecoin's growth in a market where digital Naira transfers are already widely accessible.

Yellow Card COO, Jason Marshall, expressed respect for the ASC's achievement in being admitted to Nigeria's SEC Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme (ARIP) but emphasized the company's selective approach to listing coins. Marshall cited market demand, financial backing, and compliance as key factors in Yellow Card's listing decisions, highlighting the need for coins to have raised significant capital reserves and demonstrate strong financial backing.

Eseoghene Onomor, CEO of Roqqu, echoed concerns about market demand, stating that listing a coin or token is not enough; it must be something that people want. Onomor acknowledged the value of cNGN but noted that adoption is currently low, making it uncertain whether the stablecoin will gain traction.

The ASC's vision for cNGN as a bridge for African remittances, allowing users to swap it for other stablecoins like a Kenyan Shilling-backed token (cKES), faces skepticism from Yellow Card's Marshall. He questioned the domestic use case for cNGN, citing the advanced Nigerian bank transfer system, which offers instant and low-cost transfers.

The ASC faces an uphill battle in securing stronger institutional backing and demonstrating clear utility for cNGN. Without these, Nigeria's first compliant stablecoin risks struggling to gain a foothold in a market where crypto users remain skeptical. The outcome of these efforts will be crucial in determining the future of cNGN and its potential to revolutionize remittances and cross-border transactions in Africa.