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Over $50bn in Crypto transactions passed through Nigeria in one year-SEC - THE NATION
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has revealed that more than $50 billion worth of cryptocurrency transactions were conducted in Nigeria between July 2023 and June 2024.
According to the capital market regulator, this volume of cryptocurrency reflects the growing sophistication and risk appetite of Nigerian investors outside the traditional capital market.
Director-General of the SEC, Dr. Emomotimi Agama, disclosed this in a lead paper titled “Evaluating the Nigerian Capital Market Masterplan 2015–2025” presented at the annual conference of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers.
Agama said that despite this surge in digital asset activity, fewer than four percent of Nigeria’s adult population participate in the traditional capital market — a figure he described as troubling for economic growth and capital formation.
He said: “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. 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 drew attention to Nigeria’s low market capitalization-to-GDP ratio, which he put at about 30 percent, compared to South Africa’s 320 percent, Malaysia’s 123 percent, and India’s 92 percent. He noted that the gap reflects both the shallow depth of Nigeria’s market and the urgent need to rebuild investor confidence and broaden financial inclusion.
Recalling the origins of the Capital Market Master Plan (CMMP) launched in 2015, Agama explained that it was conceived as a ten-year blueprint to transform Nigeria’s capital market into a hub for long-term financing, infrastructure development, and enterprise growth.
“Today, as we stand at the sunset of that ten-year plan, our task is not ceremonial; it is reflective and diagnostic. We must ask: what did we achieve, where did we fall short, and what lessons must anchor our next decade of reforms?” he stated.
Agama revealed that fewer than half of the 108 initiatives outlined under the CMMP had been fully implemented. He attributed the shortfall to limited alignment with national development plans, inadequate tracking mechanisms, and weak ownership among key stakeholders.
He noted that while some progress had been made — including the introduction of Green Bonds, Sukuk, fintech integration, and non-interest finance — market liquidity remained heavily concentrated in a handful of large-cap stocks such as Airtel Africa, Dangote Cement, and MTN Nigeria.
According to him, “The market’s liquidity profile is still narrow and dependent on a few major players. The next decade must deliberately address this concentration and attract a more diverse range of issuers and investors.”
The SEC Director-General outlined six key challenges that would define the next phase of reforms. These include low retail participation, market concentration, falling foreign inflows, underutilized pension assets, untapped diaspora capital, and a widening infrastructure financing gap.
He noted that Nigeria’s estimated $150 billion annual infrastructure deficit far exceeds the contribution of the capital market, with only about N1.5 trillion approved in public-private partnership (PPP) bonds.
“This shows a misalignment between financial innovation and national priorities,” he said. “The capital market must evolve beyond securities trading to become a central pillar in financing the country’s infrastructure and industrial ambitions.”
Agama called for what he described as a “reimagined SEC” — one that functions not only as a regulator but also as a catalyst for private-sector-driven economic growth.
He stressed that trust, transparency, and inclusion must form the bedrock of Nigeria’s next decade of capital market reforms.
“Vision without execution is inertia — and reform without measurement is aspiration without accountability,” he declared.
