ACBU is a stablecoin backed by a basket of African currencies, designed to address currency stability, cross-border payments, and financial inclusion across the continent. Unlike USD-pegged stablecoins, ACBU's value is tied to a weighted basket of 10 African currencies, providing a "continental currency" for intra-African trade and remittances.
Key Innovation: ACBU is analogous to the IMF's SDR (Special Drawing Rights) but focused on Africa, debunking the myth that stablecoins must be pegged to the US dollar.
1 Stablecoin = 1 ACBU (African Currency Basket Unit)
The ACBU value floats against USD, EUR, and other currencies but remains stable relative to the weighted African currency basket. This provides:
- Reduced single-currency risk for African businesses
- Lower conversion costs (0.6% vs 5-20% traditional)
- Natural hedge for pan-African operations
- Protection from isolated country crises
This document serves as the entry point to ACBU documentation, organized into the following sections:
- Value Proposition - Core value proposition and target users
- Use Cases - Detailed use case scenarios
- Business Model - Fee structure and revenue model
- Revenue Streams - Detailed revenue breakdown
- Architecture - System architecture and blockchain choice
- Pricing Mechanism - How ACBU value is calculated
- Reserve Management - Reserve structure and verification
- Rebalancing - Daily and quarterly rebalancing mechanisms
- Oracle System - Price feed architecture
- Fintech Partnerships - Partner strategy and relationships
- Country Strategy - 10-country rollout plan
- Regulatory - Legal framework and compliance
- Risk Management - Risk mitigation strategies
- Frontend & UI/UX Guide - Frontend stack, structure, and clean/excellent UI ideology for designers and developers
- Frontend Pages, Components & UI/UX Map - Backend endpoints mapped to frontend pages, components, and UI/UX ideas (auth, user, settings, KYC, transfers, mint/burn, segments)
- User Flows - Detailed user journey scenarios
- Diaspora Remittances - Remittance flows and strategies
- Merchant Integration - Merchant onboarding and integration
- Development Stages - Technical development roadmap
- Gap Analysis - Document consistency analysis
See the DOCS/ directory for:
- API Specifications
- Architecture Diagrams
- Database Schema
- Smart Contract Specifications
- Implementation Plans
- Technical Roadmaps
See the PROJECT/ directory for:
- Task Breakdown
- Milestones
- Resource Planning
MVP Phase (Stage 1):
- 3 currencies: NGN (40%), KES (35%), RWF (25%)
Full Implementation (Stage 3):
- 10 currencies representing diverse African economies
- Weighted by GDP, trade volume, and liquidity
- Total allocation: 100%
- See MVP Phase Documentation for transition details
- 105% overcollateralization (100% backing + 3% operational + 2% emergency)
- Deposits: 0.3% (USDC or local currency)
- Withdrawals: 0.3% (single currency or basket)
- P2P Transfers: FREE (or 0.01% blockchain fee)
- Merchant Payments: 0.2% (vs 2-3% cards)
Note: This is the standardized fee model for MVP and initial launch. See Business Model for details.
- Traditional remittances: 5-8% fees
- ACBU model: 0.6% total (0.3% in + 0.3% out)
- Savings: 88-93% cheaper
- Smart contract prototyping on Stellar testnet
- Oracle prototype
- Reserve tracking POC
- Production smart contracts (3 currencies: NGN, KES, RWF)
- Oracle system (5 validators)
- Backend infrastructure
- Web application
- Security audit
- Mainnet deployment
- Beta user testing
- Public launch
- Operations optimization
- Expand to 7 currencies (Months 10-12)
- Expand to 10 currencies (Months 13-15)
- Pi Network bridge (Months 16-18)
- Quarterly rebalancing automation
- Merchant payment SDK
- ACBU savings/staking
- ACBU lending protocol
- MTN/Orange Money integration
- Mobile apps (iOS/Android)
- Infrastructure scaling
- Currency Sovereignty - Value tied to African economic performance, not US monetary policy
- Diversification - Basket approach reduces volatility vs single currencies
- Cost Efficiency - 88-93% cheaper than traditional remittances
- Speed - 3-5 second settlement vs days for traditional methods
- Transparency - Public reserve dashboard, regular audits, on-chain attestations
- Pan-African e-commerce merchants
- Cross-border traders ($192B annually)
- SMEs doing regional business
- Diaspora remittances ($100B+ annually)
- MVP (Stage 1): Rwanda, Kenya, Nigeria (3 currencies)
- NGN: 40%, KES: 35%, RWF: 25%
- Expansion (Stage 3A): Add South Africa, Ghana, Egypt, Morocco (7 currencies)
- Weights adjusted: NGN: 18%, KES: 12%, RWF: 8%, plus new currencies
- Full (Stage 3B): Add Tanzania, Uganda, Côte d'Ivoire (10 currencies)
- Final weights: See MVP Phase Documentation
- 5,000+ registered users
- $1M+ total reserves
- 10,000+ transactions processed
- <1% technical failure rate
- Reserves maintained at 103-105%
- 100,000+ merchants accepting ACBU
- $50M+ in reserves
- Millions of transactions
- Mobile money partnerships live
- Full 10-currency basket operational
ACBU is NOT pegged to USD or any single currency
✓ ACBU maintains stable value relative to a basket of 10 African currencies
✓ Its USD/EUR value will fluctuate based on African currency performance
✓ Best for: African cross-border transactions, regional trade, diversified savings
✗ Not ideal for: Holding purely USD-denominated value
- For Developers: See STAGES.MD for technical roadmap
- For Business: See Business Model for commercial details
- For Partners: See Fintech Partnerships for partnership opportunities
- For Users: See User Flows for how to use ACBU
Last Updated: January 26, 2026
Version: 2.0
Status: Planning & Development