Celo adds cNGN liquidity on Uniswap for broader access to onchain FX
cNGN
The Signal
The stablecoin scramble for Africa is picking up steam. Blockchain networks are looking to get in on the action either by providing local firms with stablecoin rails or, as in Celo’s case, sponsoring access to a local stablecoin.
Ethereum layer-2 blockchain network Celo has launched a cNGN-USDT liquidity pool on the decentralized exchange Uniswap. Celo becomes the third network to create a cNGN pool on Uniswap, after Binance and Base.
Driving the news: The pool currently has 89,000 USDT and 126.2 million cNGN.
- cNGN is now listed on DEXs, including Uniswap V4 and PancakeSwap, with Celo saying its USDT/cNGN pool is the token’s largest liquidity venue.
Be Smart: DEXs let users trade directly from their wallets through smart contracts, without a central intermediary.
- Liquidity pools provide the assets for these trades. Liquidity providers deposit token pairs into smart contracts, allowing users to swap between them directly.
Why this matters: cNGN’s creators, Wrapped CBDC, are seeking to expand the naira-pegged stablecoin across more blockchains and exchanges to drive adoption.
- There are currently 4.4 billion cNGN tokens in circulation across eight networks, including Binance Chain, Solana, Base and Ethereum, according to cNGN.
- The stablecoin became available on Celo in August through the non-custodial FX protocol Textile.
- Data on cNGN’s website shows nearly 360 million cNGN units on the Celo network.
The big picture: Africa’s stablecoin market is growing. It is now becoming a battleground for blockchain networks.
- Last month, Stellar joined CV Labs as an ecosystem partner for its annual accelerator, targeting stablecoin startups building on the network or looking to integrate with it.
- Notably, this cohort saw six Africa-focused startups building mostly stablecoin solutions enter the program, with the expectation that these firms will integrate Stellar when the program is completed.
- In addition, digital assets company Daya recently added Tempo blockchain to its protocol stack.
- The networks are also looking beyond crypto-native firms. Payment company Flutterwave announced in 2025 that it would enable stablecoin transactions via Polygon and has since expanded to Ripple and Tempo.
What to watch: cNGN is marketed as a regulated stablecoin with purchases restricted to regulated and approved users.
- Its listing on decentralized exchanges raises questions about how those restrictions apply to users trading cNGN on DEXs.