Nigeria’s Crypto Surge Hides Massive Capital Escape as Billions Leave the Economy
STORY, WRITTEN BY PETERSON NOVEMBER 6,2025
Nigeria is experiencing one of the fastest-growing cryptocurrency booms in the world, yet the country is barely benefiting from it. Even though millions of citizens now trade digital assets daily, most of the value created ends up in foreign markets, not in Nigeria’s financial system.
A new report from Breet shows that between July 2023 and June 2024, crypto transactions involving Nigerians totaled roughly $59 billion, making the country the second-biggest crypto market on earth, behind India.
By 2025, over 22 million Nigerians—about 10 percent of the population—own or use crypto, a dramatic rise from just 0.4 percent ten years ago. With inflation biting hard and the naira losing value, Nigerians are turning to dollar-backed stablecoins. These digital dollars now represent 43 percent of retail transfers below $1 million.
However, the country gains almost nothing from this growth. Most crypto trading is processed on international platforms like Binance, Tron, and Polygon, meaning transaction fees, blockchain settlements, and custody services enrich foreign companies while Nigeria loses digital wealth.
Some industry leaders call it a “digital resource curse”—Nigeria exports crypto value but keeps little of it at home.
Technology expert Ade Atobatele said the issue isn’t adoption, but government policy. He explained that while the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is trying to regulate and integrate digital assets into the mainstream, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is blocking progress by restricting banks from working with crypto-related companies.
Until both agencies agree and create a unified policy, Atobatele said, the country will continue to miss out on revenue, taxes, and innovation. He noted that SEC’s Director-General Dr. Emomotimi Agama has proposed a joint committee with the CBN to design a national digital asset framework.
Agama has consistently argued that blockchain should help grow Nigeria’s markets—not just fuel speculation—and warned that Nigerians have already lost over N1 trillion to crypto scams in the past 25 years due to poor regulation.
Atobatele pointed out that platforms like mobile money and fintech only became mainstream after proper regulatory guidelines were introduced. The same, he said, must happen with crypto.
Industry executives agree. Michael Emeeka, head of Blockchain.com Nigeria, said that integrating digital currency into planned tax reforms could help Nigeria capture revenue from billions of dollars in crypto trades.
Another analyst, familiar with government crypto policy, warned that without local exchanges, Nigerian-owned wallets, and homegrown blockchain networks, the country will continue to lose value. He estimated that Nigeria’s crypto volume—around $400 billion yearly—is higher than the country’s foreign reserves and almost triple its official GDP. But most of that volume benefits foreign systems, not Nigeria.
He urged the government to build domestic infrastructure, tokenize real assets like land and diaspora remittances, and push for a national digital asset economy.
His message was blunt:
“Crypto should not just pass through Nigeria—it should build Nigeria.”
He added that the nation must invest in public education to avoid ignorance-driven fear and allow citizens to benefit from the fast-growing digital economy.
