The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has disclosed that over $50 billion worth of cryptocurrency transactions were carried out in Nigeria between July 2023 and June 2024, highlighting the country’s growing appetite for digital assets outside the traditional financial system.
The Director-General of the SEC, Dr. Emomotimi Agama, made this revelation while presenting a lead paper titled “Evaluating the Nigerian Capital Market Masterplan 2015–2025” at the annual conference of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers.
Agama noted that the surge in cryptocurrency activity reflects the increasing sophistication and risk appetite of Nigerian investors who are exploring new asset classes beyond the traditional capital market.
“While fewer than three million Nigerians invest in the capital market, more than 60 million engage daily in gambling activities, spending an estimated $5.5 million every day,” he said.
“This reveals a paradox an appetite for risk clearly exists, but not the trust or access to channel that energy into productive investment.”
The SEC boss described the low participation rate less than 4 per cent of Nigeria’s adult population in the capital market as worrying, stressing that this limits the country’s ability to mobilise funds for long-term economic growth and capital formation.
Agama urged stakeholders to intensify efforts in financial literacy, market access, and digital innovation to rebuild investor confidence and encourage a shift from speculative trading to productive investment.
