Beautiful Virgin Islands

Saturday, Sep 06, 2025

Crypto trading is thriving in Nigeria despite official disapproval

Crypto trading is thriving in Nigeria despite official disapproval

Authorities in Nigeria, including its central bank, are actively discouraging crypto use. But that is not stopping traders in Africa's leading economy.

Nigerian art dealer Ebuka Joseph started using cryptocurrencies last year when business ground to a halt due to COVID-19. Now he is hooked even though the financial authorities disapprove.

"Crypto just allows me to transact freely and within minutes we are done with our transactions," the 28-year-old told Reuters from a friend's studio in Lagos where he displays his works.

Nigeria's Central Bank barred local banks from working with cryptocurrencies in February, warning of "severe regulatory sanctions" and freezing accounts of firms it says are using them.

But Joseph's appetite for crypto, like many in Nigeria, has only increased.

For people like him, the clampdown has highlighted the benefits of using currencies outside the central bank's control, and Nigeria remains the largest market for cryptocurrency trading platforms like Paxful.

Nigerians are turning to crypto for business, to protect their savings as the naira - Nigeria's fiat currency - loses value, and to send payments abroad because it is often hard to obtain US dollars, experts and users told Reuters.

In March, just after the central bank ban, the dollar volume of cryptocurrencies sent from Nigeria rose to $132 million (€114.3 million), up 17 per cent from the previous month, research firm Chainalysis said. Transactions in June were 25 per cent above the same month last year.

Sly Megida, another artist using crypto to sell his works, said his buyers worldwide readily accept the use of digital currencies and they have also protected his finances.

"The naira is digressing and we are trying to keep the value of the art," he said, calling crypto "the currency where people don't think that I am paying too much or too less".

Despite higher crypto use, risks remain


The Paxful peer-to-peer platform that Joseph uses experienced a 57 per cent rise in trading volume in Nigeria in the year to June, while user numbers surged 83 per cent.

Exchange Yellowcard, which has adopted the peer-to-peer model in Nigeria since February, told Reuters that use "has continued to absolutely skyrocket".

Both Paxful, which has opened an office in Abuja to lobby the government to change its attitude to crypto, and Yellowcard said Nigerians generally turn to crypto for business rather than speculation.

Chainalysis, in a report last month on African crypto, said the central bank ban locked most Nigerians out of traditional crypto exchanges, so many shifted to a peer-to-peer system.

This goes via platforms such as Paxful or Local Bitcoins, which vet both parties.

But other users just exchange crypto for Nigerian naira or other currencies with people they find on WhatsApp or Telegram.

As a result, Chainalysis said Nigeria's crypto use is likely even higher than its figures suggest. Risks remain, however.

In August, the central bank froze the accounts of some crypto users for allegedly sourcing funds from illegal foreign exchange dealers, leaving many companies that use cryptocurrencies reluctant to talk about it.

Joseph, though, is undeterred.

"You can sell to people outside the country, and they can actually pay in different currencies, which you can always convert," he said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Brand-New $1 Million Yacht Sinks Just Fifteen Minutes After Maiden Launch in Turkey
Here’s What the FBI Seized in John Bolton Raid — and the Legal Risks He Faces
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Queen Camilla’s Teenage Courage: Fended Off Attempted Assault on London Train, New Biography Reveals
Scottish Brothers Set Record in Historic Pacific Row
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
×