Economy
The Impact of Digital Asset Trading Market on Nigeria’s Economy
What are Digital Assets?
Digital assets are simply items whose content is stored in electronic format.
With that definition, you would most likely be thinking about images, music, movies, documents, etc. The truth is, those indeed are digital assets. Thanks to technology, these assets have developed far beyond that, and are also digital currencies.
What Are The Types of Digital Assets?
Based on this article, I would be focusing on two major types of digital assets which serve as a source of money. Gift cards and cryptocurrencies.
Gift Cards
Gift cards or gift certificates are a type of debit card, pre-loaded with a specific amount of money that could be used for a variety of purchases at a designated brand.
Gift cards serve as alternative sources of payment at designated brands. For example; A $100 Amazon gift card could be redeemed to make purchases online or any of the multiple Amazon stores located in the United States.
These cards are also excellent presents to give a loved one on their special day. When a birthday, wedding anniversary, baby shower, graduation, etc is coming up, gifting your loved one a loaded gift card from their favourite brand would always put you in their good books.
Presently, the numerous gift card brands could not all be possibly be listed. However, some of the notable and familiar names include; Amazon, Itunes, Steam, Walmart, Apple, Google Play Gift Cards, etc.
Cryptocurrencies
What are cryptocurrencies?
Cryptocurrencies are Binary data that were designed to serve as a means of exchange of goods and services. Created with the use of blockchain technology, these coins are secured by Cryptography.
Currently, there are over 10,000 coins in the crypto market. You should be familiar with certain names like Ethereum, Bitcoin, Tether, etc.
Evolution of Digital Asset trading in Nigeria
To those who are just getting accustomed to digital asset trading in Nigeria, you should consider yourselves lucky. There is a very huge difference between what it is now and what it was back then.
A couple of years back, most Nigerians were not familiar with this concept. A crypto or gift card holder in Nigeria, wanting to exchange his asset for cash was practically embarking on an impossible mission here.
It was just not feasible. This was not a result of the difficulty of this process per se, but the awareness, There were a lot of dark clouds regarding these assets here in Nigeria, and as a result, people felt very hesitant to own or collect them. With very little demand for this service, there was no incentive for individuals to provide supply.
How did we get here? you may be wondering. Thanks to certain trading platforms that decided to pioneer the movement, the market was able to grow over the years.
The founders of these early platforms also witnessed the vast scarcity in the market and knew that they most likely won’t be the only ones going through this. They leapt and decided to create a solution to this problem without ripping people off.
Word got around, and many other Nigerians developed the confidence to trust these platforms with their assets. As the demand for this service started growing rapidly, other entrepreneurs saw the opportunity and decided to enter the market.
In Nigeria, what was once perceived as a myth, is not only possible but has been made very simple.
The Impact of The Digital Asset Trading Market on Nigeria’s Economy
Another important aspect to look at after the evolution of this market is its impact. Has this market affected Nigeria’s economy Positively or negatively?
I believe that everything in life has its pros and cons. It would be up to you to decide if the pros outweigh the cons for you or vice versa.
Since the introduction of digital asset trading on a national level, Nigerian citizens have enjoyed the ease of transactions. Day-to-day activities such as payments and exchange have been made simpler and faster amongst Nigerians and even beyond.
The increase in patronage of this service has profited such platforms, which has led to its continuity and expansion. This act has employed various intelligent Nigerians.
This market has also aided international business transactions between Nigerians and individuals and companies in the diaspora.
For example, a graphics designer or web developer working remotely in Nigeria could be freelancing for a company located in America and receive payment straight to his BTC wallet or the equivalent in gift cards, which saves the several hassles faced in the banking halls or waiting for hours or days for the money to arrive from outside the country.
With the massive rise in demand for this service, unfortunately, there was also an increase in digital asset scams in the market. Crypto and gift card owners have fallen victim to these scammers throughout exchanging their assets for cash.
Quite frankly, this would only happen when adequate research is not conducted. With money, you should be patient. There should be enough background checks done with whoever you are entrusting your money with. Till today there are still various victims of BVN and real estate scams. This would not stop us from using our traditional banks or buying and renting properties.
There are still legitimate exchange platforms to sell gift cards in Nigeria which could be used to avoid scams.
By Dipo Olowookere
The local stock market firmed up by 1.13 per cent on Friday as appetite for Nigerian stocks remained strong.
Investors reacted well to the 2026 budget presentation of President Bola Tinubu to the National Assembly yesterday, especially because of the more realistic crude oil benchmark of $64 per barrel compared with the ambitious $75 per barrel for 2025. This year, prices have been between $60 and $65 per barrel.
Business Post observed profit-taking in the commodity and energy sectors as they respectively shed 0.14 per cent and 0.03 per cent.
But, bargain-hunting in the others sustained the positive run, with the consumer goods index up by 3.82 per cent.
Further, the industrial goods space appreciated by 1.46 per cent, the banking counter improved by 0.08 per cent, and the insurance industry gained 0.04 per cent.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 1,694.33 points to 152,057.38 points from 150,363.05 points and the market capitalisation chalked up N1.080 trillion to finish at N96.937 trillion compared with Thursday’s closing value of N95.857 trillion.
A total of 34 shares ended on the advancers’ chart, while 24 were on the laggards’ log, representing a positive market breadth index and bullish investor sentiment.
Austin Laz gained 10.00 per cent to close at N2.42, Union Dicon also jumped 10.00 per cent to N6.60, Tantalizers increased by 9.80 per cent to N2.69, Aluminium Extrusion improved by 9.78 per cent to N12.35, and Champion Breweries grew by 9.71 per cent to N16.95.
Conversely, Sovereign Trust Insurance dipped by 7.42 per cent to N3.87, Royal Exchange lost 6.84 per cent to trade at N1.77, Omatek slipped by 6.84 per cent to N1.09, Eunisell depreciated by 5.88 per cent to N80.00, and Eterna dropped 5.63 per cent to close at N28.50.
Yesterday, traders transacted 1.5 billion units worth N21.8 billion in 25,667 deals compared with the 839.8 million units sold for N32.8 billion in 23,211 deals in the preceding session, showing a surge in the trading volume by 76.61 per cent, an uptick in the number of deals by 10.58 per cent, and a shrink in the trading value by 33.54 per cent.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Three stocks stretched the bearish run of the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.21 per cent on Friday, December 19, with the market capitalisation giving up N26.01 billion to close at N2.121 billion compared with the N2.147 trillion it ended a day earlier, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) dropping 43.47 points to 3,546.41 points from 3,589.88 points.
The trio of FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, and NASD Plc overpowered the gains printed by four other securities.
FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc lost N6.00 to sell at N54.00 per unit versus N60.00 per unit, NASD Plc shrank by N3.50 to N58.50 per share from N55.00 per share, and CSCS Plc depleted by N2.91 to N33.87 per unit from N36.78 per unit.
On the flip side, Air Liquide Plc gained N1.01 to close at N13.00 per share versus N11.99 per share, Golden Capital Plc appreciated by 70 Kobo to N7.68 per unit from N6.98 per unit, Geo-Fluids Plc added 39 Kobo to sell at N5.50 per share versus N5.11 per share, and IPWA Plc rose by 8 Kobo to 85 Kobo per unit from 77 Kobo per unit.
During the trading day, market participants traded 1.9 million securities versus the previous day’s 30.5 million securities showing a decline of 49.3 per cent. The value of trades went down by 64.3 per cent to N80.3 million from N225.1 million, but the number of deals jumped by 32.1 per cent to 37 deals from 28 deals.
Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc finished the session as the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units valued at N16.4 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 178.9 million units transacted for N9.5 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 36.1 million units traded for N4.9 billion.
The most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis was still InfraCredit Plc with 5.8 billion units worth N16.4 billion, trailed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.7 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 536.9 million units traded for N524.9 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira at the two major foreign exchange (FX) market on Friday as it suffered a heavy loss against the United States Dollar at the close of transactions.
In the black market segment, the Naira weakened against its American counterpart yesterday by N10 to quote at N1,485/$1, in contrast to the N1,475/$1 it was traded a day earlier, and at the GTBank forex counter, it depreciated by N2 to settle at N1,467/$1 versus Thursday’s closing price of N1,465/$1.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) window, which is also the official market, the nation’s legal tender crashed against the greenback by N6.65 or 0.46 per cent to close at N1,464.49/$1 compared with the preceding session’s rate of N1,457.84/$1.
In the same vein, the local currency tumbled against the Euro in the spot market by N2.25 to sell for N1,714.63/€1 compared with the previous day’s N1,712.38/€1, but appreciated against the Pound Sterling by 73 Kobo to finish at N1,957.30/£1 compared with the N1,958.03/£1 it was traded in the preceding session.
The market continues to face seasonal pressure even as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is still conducting FX intervention sales, which have significantly reduced but not remove pressure from the Naira. Also, there seems to be reduced supply from exporters, foreign portfolio investors and non-bank corporate inflows.
President Bola Tinubu on Friday presented the government’s N58.47 trillion budget plan aimed at consolidating economic reforms and boosting growth.
The budget is based on a projected crude oil price of $64.85 a barrel and includes a target oil output of 1.84 million barrels a day. It also projects an exchange rate of N1,400 to the Dollar.
President Tinubu said inflation had plunged to an annual rate of 14.45 per cent in November from 24.23 per cent in March, while foreign reserves had surged to a seven-year high of $47 billion.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was dominated by the bulls but it continues to face increased pressure after million in liquidations in previous session over accelerating declines, with Dogecoin (DOGE) recovering 4.2 per cent to trade at $0.1309.
Further, Ripple (XRP) appreciated by 3.9 per cent to $1.90, Cardano (ADA) rose by 3.5 per cent to $0.3728, Solana (SOL) jumped by 3.4 per cent to $126.23, Ethereum (ETH) climbed by 2.9 per cent to $2,982.42, Binance Coin (BNB) gained 2.0 per cent to sell for $853.06, Bitcoin (BTC) improved by 1.7 per cent to $88,281.21, and Litecoin (LTC) soared by 1.2 per cent to $76.50, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.
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