Nigeria’s capital market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission, has raised concerns over the growing preference of Nigerians for cryptocurrency trading over investments in the traditional capital market.

According to the Director-General of the SEC, Emomotimi Agama, more than $50bn worth of cryptocurrency transactions passed through Nigeria between July 2023 and June 2024, reflecting a high level of investor sophistication and risk appetite that has not translated into participation in the formal market.

“Over $50 bn worth of cryptocurrency transactions flowed through Nigeria between July 2023 and June 2024, underscoring the sophistication and risk tolerance of investors that the traditional market has yet to capture.”

In a statement, Agama, who spoke while presenting a paper titled ‘Evaluating the Nigerian Capital Market Masterplan 2015–2025’ at the annual conference of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers, said fewer than four per cent of Nigerian adults currently invest in the capital market.

He said, “There are concerns over the alarmingly low participation of Nigerians in the traditional capital market, revealing that fewer than four per cent of the country’s adult population are active investors.”

He described the low participation rate as a major obstacle to economic growth and capital formation, noting that while less than three million Nigerians invest in the market, over 60 million engage in daily gambling activities worth an estimated $5.5m.

Agama further lamented that Nigeria’s market capitalisation-to-GDP ratio stands at about 30 per cent, far below that of South Africa at 320 per cent, Malaysia at 123 per cent, and India at 92 per cent.

He called for deeper financial inclusion, stronger trust-building measures, and renewed reforms to attract retail investors and harness the capital market as a driver of long-term economic transformation.