SEC DG Emomotimi Agama revealed that Nigeria recorded over $50bn in cryptocurrency transactions between July 2023 and June 2024, far exceeding participation in the traditional market.
The Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Emomotimi Agama, says over $50 billion worth of cryptocurrency transactions flowed through Nigeria between July 2023 and June 2024.
Agama, who disclosed this while presenting a paper titled “Evaluating the Nigerian Capital Market Masterplan 2015–2025” at the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers’ annual conference, said the figure reflects investors’ sophistication and risk appetite that the traditional market has yet to capture.
He lamented that fewer than four percent of Nigerian adults participate in the capital market, compared to over 60 million engaged in daily gambling activities worth about $5.5 million.
“This reveals a paradox,” he said. “An appetite for risk clearly exists, but not the trust or access to channel that energy into productive investment.”
Agama added that Nigeria’s market capitalization-to-GDP ratio remains low at 30 percent, underscoring the urgent need to deepen financial inclusion and rebuild investor confidence