Economy
Nigerians Trade $50bn Crypto in One Year, Spend $5.5m Daily on Betting
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Cryptocurrency valued at over $50 billion was transacted in Nigeria between July 2023 and June 2024, the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr Emomotimi Agama, has revealed.
He also disclosed that 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.
While presenting a lead paper titled Evaluating the Nigerian Capital Market Masterplan 2015-2025 at the annual conference of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) the SEC DG said efforts must be made to attract investments in the traditional capital market.
He noted that the digital currency transactions flowed through Nigeria underscored the sophistication and risk tolerance of investors that the traditional market has yet to capture, stating that fewer than four percent of the country’s adult population are active investors.
Mr Agama described the low participation rate as a major impediment to economic growth and capital formation, saying, “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 chief also lamented that Nigeria’s market capitalization-to-GDP ratio stands at about 30 per cent, far below South Africa’s 320 per cent, Malaysia’s 123 per cent, and India’s 92 per cent, a disparity he said highlights the urgent need to deepen financial inclusion and rebuild investor confidence.
Recalling the vision of the ten-year CMMP launched in 2015, he said it was designed to reposition Nigeria’s capital market as the engine of economic transformation by mobilizing long-term finance for infrastructure and enterprise development.
“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 queried.
Mr Agama disclosed that less than half of the 108 initiatives under the CMMP were fully achieved, blaming limited alignment with national development plans, inadequate tracking metrics, and weak stakeholder ownership for the shortfall.
Despite progress in areas such as Green Bonds, Sukuk, fintech integration, and non-interest finance, he said market liquidity remains concentrated in a few large-cap stocks like Airtel Africa, Dangote Cement, and MTN Nigeria.
Mr Agama, who listed six key challenges for the next phase of reforms, pointed at low retail participation, market concentration, falling foreign inflows, underutilized pension assets, untapped diaspora capital, and a widening infrastructure financing gap.
“Nigeria’s $150 billion annual infrastructure deficit far exceeds the market’s contribution, with only N1.5 trillion approved in PPP bonds. This shows a misalignment between financial innovation and national priorities,” he observed.
The DG called for a “reimagined SEC” that serves as both regulator and enabler of private-sector-driven growth, and added the next decade must focus on trust-building, transparency, and inclusion, declaring that, “Vision without execution is inertia — and reform without measurement is aspiration without accountability.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange dipped by 0.44 per cent on Tuesday, January 27, with the market capitalisation declining by N9.70 billion to N2.174 trillion from N2.184 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) falling by 16.21 points to 3,634.73 points from 3,650.94 points.
The bourse was under pressure from two securities, which lost weight, overpowering the gains recorded by three securities.
Business Post reports that FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc lost N5.70 to sell at N64.00 per share compared with Monday’s price of N69.70 per share and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc dropped 17 Kobo to close at N40.50 per unit, in contrast to the preceding day’s N40.67 per unit.
On the flip side, Air Liquide Plc added N1.69 to settle at N18.63 per share versus the previous session’s N16.94 per share, UBN Property Plc appreciated by 20 Kobo to N2.20 per unit from N2.00 per unit, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc gained 6 Kobo to trade at 69 Kobo per share versus 63 Kobo per share.
During the session, the volume of securities traded by investors fell further by 80.9 per cent to 1.3 million units from 6.8 million units, the value of securities went down by 57.3 per cent to N57.3 million from N156.7 million, and the total number of deals shrank by 13.6 per cent to 38 deals from 44 deals.
At the close of business, CSCS Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 14.4 million units traded for N586.1 million, the second spot was occupied by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 1.6 million units worth N107.9 million, and the third spot was taken by MRS Oil Plc with 297,101 units valued at N59.3 million.
CSCS Plc also ended as the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 14.4 million units valued at N586.1 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 1.6 million units worth N107.9 million, and Mass Telecom Innovation Plc with 6.4 million units sold for N2.6 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The value of the Nigerian Naira appreciated against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Tuesday, January 27 by N17.73 or 1.25 per cent to close at N1,401.22/$1, in contrast to the previous day’s value of N1,418.95/$1.
Also, the domestic currency improved its value against the Euro by N10.09 in the same market window yesterday to trade at N1,672.22/€1 versus the previous session’s N1,682.31/€1, but declined against the Pound Sterling by N4.72 to trade at N1,925.84/£1 compared with Monday’s closing price of N1,921.12/£1.
At the GTBank FX desk, the Naira appreciated against the greenback during the session by N4 to close at N1,426/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,430/$1 and at the parallel market, it remained unchanged at N1,480/$1.
The Naira continues to align with projections and reforms. Analysts largely expect the local currency to remain within a relatively stable range in the medium term. Many projections suggest the currency will trade between N1,400/$1 and N1,450/$1 this year, supported by improved FX liquidity and ongoing macroeconomic reforms.
Nigeria’s external reserves have continued on a steady upward trajectory, providing additional support for the domestic currency. According to figures published by the CBN on its website, external reserves rose to $46.03 billion as of January 26, 2026, reflecting sustained inflows and improved confidence in the FX market.
Ongoing reforms in the oil sector that have buoyed investments, rising foreign capital inflows, and stronger diaspora remittances are also combining to underpin exchange rate stability and sustain confidence in the FX market.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market rose on Tuesday and the US Dollar remained under pressure ahead of a closely watched Federal Reserve decision on Wednesday.
The weaker Dollar has fueled strong rallies in gold and silver, but crypto has so far lagged that trade.
Ethereum (ETH) gained 2.5 per cent to trade at $3,000.05, Dogecoin (DOGE) increased by 2.4 per cent to $0.1249, Solana (SOL) expanded by 2.3 per cent to $126.84, Binance Coin (BNB) added 2.1 per cent to sell for $900.33, Cardano (ADA) jumped by 1.6 per cent to $0.3568, Ripple (XRP) appreciated by 0.9 per cent to $1.91, Bitcoin (BTC) soared by 0.9 per cent to $89,016.63, and Litecoin (LTC) grew by 0.6 per cent to $69.69, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Crude oil appreciated by 3 per cent on Tuesday as a winter storm in the United States affected crude production and drove US Gulf Coast crude exports to zero over the weekend.
During the session, Brent crude futures went up by $1.98 or 3.02 per cent to $67.57 a barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures grew by $1.76 or 2.9 per cent to trade at $62.39 a barrel.
US oil producers lost up to 2 million barrels per day or roughly 15 per cent of national production over the weekend as a severe winter storm swept across the country, straining energy infrastructure and power grids.
The severe weather has boosted crude futures, with short-term risks rising on fears of supply disruptions.
According to Reuters, the Permian Basin experienced the largest share of that decline at around 1.5 million barrels per day. Production losses eased on Monday, with Permian shut-ins estimated at about 700,000 barrels per day and production set to be fully restored by January 30.
The exports of crude oil and liquefied natural gas from US Gulf Coast ports tumbled to zero on Sunday amid frigid weather. However, this has rebounded in the last days.
Also boosting prices, Kazakhstan’s biggest oilfield, Tengiz, is likely to restore less than half of its normal production by February 7 as it slowly recovers from a fire and power outage.
The slow pace of recovery of Tengiz’s production is keeping the oil market tighter while a weaker US Dollar also lended some support.
However, the CPC, which operates Kazakhstan’s main exporting pipeline, said it returned to full loading capacity at its terminal on the Russian Black Sea coast after maintenance was completed at one of its three mooring points.
On the geopolitical front, the US landed an aircraft carrier and supporting warships in the Middle East, adding to the slim chance of a military action against Iran.
President Donald Trump Trump had repeatedly threatened to intervene if Iran continued to kill protesters, but the countrywide demonstrations have since abated. The US president said he had been told that killings were subsiding and that he believes there is currently no plan for the executions of prisoners.
Meanwhile, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) is set to keep its pause on oil output increases for March at a meeting on February 1.
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