The Director General of the Security and Exchange Com­mission (SEC) Emomotimi Agama, has said that Nigeria’s cryptocurrency market is es­timated to be worth over $400 million, with a significant por­tion of the population involved in cryptocurrency trading and transactions.

Speaking at the 2024 Annual Conference of the Association of Capital Market Academics of Nigeria (ACMAN) in Abuja, with the theme ‘Crypto Assets and the Nigerian Economy: Implications for Financial Markets Regulation’, the SEC DG, the volume of the cryp­tocurrency market in Nige­ria would hit $52.5 million in 2028, indicating a 12.66 per cent increase between 2024 to 2028.

According to Agama, de­spite economic challenges, the country has emerged as one of the leading countries globally in terms of crypto adoption and volume of transactions.

He said: “Reports indicate that Nigeria’s crypto trans­action volume reached $56.7 billion between July 2022 and June 2023, representing a nine percent year-over-year growth.

“The country’s crypto mar­ket is estimated to be worth over $400 million, with a signif­icant portion of the population involved in cryptocurrency trading and transactions.”

While disclosing that ap­proximately 33.4% of Nige­rians own or use cryptocur­rencies, the Director General said the country can take ad­vantage of the large number to further provide financial services for the over 38 million unbanked adults. According to him, some people don’t have bank accounts but they have wallets.

He added that cryptocur­rencies can also provide cheap­er and more efficient methods of remittance for Nigerians in diaspora.

“Cryptocurrencies can sig­nificantly reduce remittance costs, with Bitcoin transac­tions cutting fees by up to 50%. Nigeria is one of the largest recipients of remittances in Africa. Cryptocurrencies offer a more efficient and cost-effec­tive way for Nigerians abroad to send money home. With traditional remittance fees of­ten being prohibitively high, cryptocurrencies provide a cheaper and faster alterna­tive,” he said.

He, however, noted that despite the numerous advan­tages, challenges persist. He pointed out concerns over il­licit activities, as highlighted by Nigeria’s Economic and Fi­nancial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which has reported cases of crypto-related scams.

According to the SEC DG, regulatory uncertainty, secu­rity concerns and financial literacy pose a serious threat to crypto use.