XCFA

Today, we're introducing XCFA, a new digital settlement network being built on Stellar to connect the XOF and XAF monetary zones across Francophone Africa.

For decades, the CFA franc has connected economies across West and Central Africa. But digitally, moving money across these markets remains fragmented.

A business operating between Libreville and Abidjan, for example, may still need different banking relationships, liquidity providers, FX routes, payment rails and reconciliation processes simply to move value from one CFA zone to another.

The currencies may share a common heritage. The infrastructure does not. XCFA is being built to change that.

Two CFA zones. One settlement network.

XCFA is designed as a reserve-backed digital settlement asset and network connecting XOF and XAF through one interoperable layer.

Instead of asking wallets, fintechs and businesses to individually integrate every local liquidity source and payment rail, XCFA creates a common settlement layer between them.

The idea is simple:

XOF → XCFA → XAF

XOF / XAF → XCFA → USDC → global settlement

Libreville → XCFA → Abidjan

XCFA is not intended to replace local banking systems, mobile money networks or global stablecoins. It is designed to connect them.

1. One network across two CFA zones

XOF and XAF operate in separate monetary and liquidity environments. XCFA creates one fungible settlement asset that can move across both. Once issued: 1 XCFA = 1 XCFA.

The network does not create separate XOF-XCFA and XAF-XCFA assets. Instead, the underlying XOF and XAF liquidity positions remain managed separately at the treasury level while XCFA provides a common digital settlement layer.

2. Price before fungibility

Official currency relationships do not always reflect executable market liquidity. At a given moment, the market price to access digital dollars from XOF may differ from the price available from XAF. Simply issuing the same number of tokens against both markets could introduce artificial arbitrage into the network.

Before issuance, a Network Reference Rate and local executable pricing determine how much XCFA should be issued against a given XOF or XAF amount. After issuance, the asset becomes fully fungible.

Our principle: price the difference before fungibility, not after it.

3. Build settlement infrastructure, not another closed wallet

XCFA is not being designed only for Soko. Soko will be its first distribution environment, but the network is being designed so that wallets, fintechs, financial institutions and liquidity providers can eventually access XCFA through standardized infrastructure.

On Stellar, this includes planned Anchor interfaces for authentication, KYC/KYB, deposits, withdrawals, cross-border payment coordination and executable quotes. The goal is for a partner to integrate the network without becoming the issuer or rebuilding every XOF and XAF rail from scratch.

Settlement should be invisible

Most businesses do not care which infrastructure moves their money. They care that the amount is predictable, settlement is reliable, the recipient gets paid, the cost is transparent and reconciliation works.

XCFA is therefore not designed primarily as a token users need to understand. It is designed as financial infrastructure that makes money movement work better behind the scenes.

A merchant in Libreville should not need to understand treasury rebalancing to pay a supplier in Abidjan. A fintech should not need fifteen separate integrations to access regional liquidity. And a business entering from CFA should be able to reach global settlement infrastructure without rebuilding the entire payment stack.

Built on Stellar

Stellar becomes the common ledger connecting these flows. XCFA uses a separated issuer and distribution architecture, while the broader system being built around it manages:

Reserve → Pricing → Mint → Transfer → Redemption → Burn → Reconciliation

Stellar also gives XCFA a path toward interoperability with external wallets and assets such as USDC. Stellar moves the value. XCFA infrastructure manages the liquidity behind it.

One region. A better settlement layer.

The long-term opportunity is larger than moving value between two currencies. It is about creating infrastructure through which financial institutions, wallets, fintechs, businesses and liquidity providers can participate in the same regional settlement network.

Fourteen countries. Two CFA monetary zones. One interoperable settlement layer. XCFA.

If you are a bank, fintech, wallet, liquidity provider, payment company or infrastructure provider interested in building with XCFA, we'd like to hear from you.

— The Soko / XCFA Team