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African stablecoin infrastructure company Yellow Card has disclosed that its decision to shut down its consumer-facing cryptocurrency exchange was driven by a strategic business shift, rather than regulatory pressure in Nigeria.
Lasbery Oludimu, Group Vice President of Operations and Managing Director of Yellow Card Nigeria, made the clarification during a media briefing in Lagos following the company’s latest $40 million funding round.
Yellow Card discontinued its retail exchange in December 2025, moving away from a business-to-consumer (B2C) model to focus exclusively on business-to-business (B2B) stablecoin infrastructure.
According to Oludimu, the decision followed an assessment of how the company could make more effective use of the technology and infrastructure it had already built.
Infrastructure Was Being Underused
Oludimu explained that maintaining a consumer-facing platform required Yellow Card to carry substantial infrastructure and operational costs, even when individual users did not fully utilise the technology available to them.
The B2B model, she said, gives businesses the opportunity to integrate Yellow Card’s infrastructure directly into their own operations, allowing the company to generate greater value from the technology it has developed.
The strategy is therefore focused less on competing for individual cryptocurrency traders and more on providing the infrastructure businesses need for payments, settlements and treasury management.
Yellow Card now provides services including stablecoin payments, fiat settlement rails, wallet services and local stablecoin issuance, operating across more than 50 markets.
Regulatory Pressure Not Behind Exit
The timing of the retail shutdown had raised questions because it came amid heightened regulatory scrutiny of cryptocurrency businesses in Nigeria.
However, Oludimu said the decision was not linked to the regulatory challenges faced by other crypto companies, including Binance.
She explained that if regulatory developments in Nigeria had been responsible, Yellow Card would have restricted or closed only its Nigerian operations. Instead, the retail service was discontinued across its markets as part of the company’s broader B2C-to-B2B transition.
Yellow Card had also previously stated that its retail withdrawal was part of a strategic decision to concentrate on institutional-grade stablecoin infrastructure as demand from businesses increased.
$40m Funding Strengthens New Strategy
The company’s latest strategic direction has received significant backing from investors.
Yellow Card recently raised $40 million, bringing its total equity financing to more than $120 million, according to the company.
Oludimu said the new capital will support the expansion of Global USD Accounts, the company’s dollar-account solution for businesses, while strengthening the stablecoin payment rails connecting its markets.
The company is also using the funding to expand its infrastructure beyond its existing markets and strengthen its ability to serve institutional and corporate customers.
Stablecoins Move Beyond Crypto Trading
For Yellow Card, the shift reflects a broader change in how stablecoins are being used.
Rather than positioning stablecoins primarily as assets for individual cryptocurrency traders, the company sees them increasingly as infrastructure for moving money between businesses and across borders.
Businesses can use stablecoin-based rails for international payments, settlement and treasury operations, potentially addressing some of the cost and speed challenges associated with traditional cross-border financial systems.
“Stablecoins are increasingly moving beyond being viewed simply as a crypto product,” Oludimu said, pointing to their expanding role in financial infrastructure.
Expansion Comes With Regulatory Progress
Yellow Card’s B2B expansion is also being accompanied by developments in its regulatory footprint.
In June 2026, the company secured regulatory AML affiliation in Switzerland as a supervised financial intermediary, providing institutional customers and banking partners with a regulated channel into its stablecoin infrastructure.
The company has consequently positioned itself less as a conventional cryptocurrency exchange and more as a financial technology infrastructure provider serving businesses that need stablecoin-based payment and settlement capabilities.
For Yellow Card, the closure of its retail exchange therefore represents a fundamental change in its business model rather than an exit from digital assets.
The company is betting that enterprise demand for stablecoin infrastructure will provide a larger and more sustainable opportunity than directly serving individual crypto traders as digital payments and cross-border commerce continue to evolve.
