Nigeria records $50 Crypto transactions, SEC decries low market participation
By Maureen Aguta
Nigeria recorded over $50 billion worth of cryptocurrency transactions between July 2023 and June 2024, according to the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Dr. Emomotimi Agama.
Agama, who disclosed this while delivering a lead paper titled “Evaluating the Nigerian Capital Market Masterplan 2015–2025” at the annual conference of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers, said the surge reflects the growing sophistication and risk appetite of Nigerian investors—an appetite that the traditional capital market has yet to capture.
He, however, expressed concern over the alarmingly low participation of Nigerians in the formal capital market, revealing that fewer than four percent of the country’s adult population are active investors.
“This reveals a paradox: an appetite for risk clearly exists, but not the trust or access to channel that energy into productive investment,” Agama noted.
The SEC boss said while less than three million Nigerians invest in the capital market, over 60 million citizens engage daily in gambling, spending an estimated $5.5 million every day.
Weak Market Depth
Agama described the low participation rate as a major constraint to economic growth and capital formation, adding that Nigeria’s market capitalization-to-GDP ratio currently stands at about 30 percent—far below South Africa’s 320 percent, Malaysia’s 123 percent, and India’s 92 percent.
He said the disparity underscores the need to deepen financial inclusion, expand retail participation, and rebuild investor confidence in the capital market.
Capital Market Masterplan Review
Recalling the vision of the Capital Market Masterplan (CMMP) 2015–2025, Agama said it was designed to position 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 stated.
He revealed that less than half of the 108 initiatives outlined under the CMMP were fully achieved, citing limited alignment with national development plans, inadequate tracking mechanisms, and weak stakeholder ownership as major setbacks.
Persistent Structural Challenges
Although the market has recorded progress in areas such as Green Bonds, Sukuk issuance, fintech integration, and non-interest finance, Agama noted that market liquidity remains concentrated in a few large-cap stocks including Airtel Africa, Dangote Cement, and MTN Nigeria.
He identified six critical challenges that must define the next phase of reforms: low retail participation, market concentration, falling foreign inflows, underutilized pension assets, untapped diaspora capital, and a widening infrastructure financing gap.
Agama warned that Nigeria’s $150 billion annual infrastructure deficit remains far beyond the capital market’s contribution, with only ₦1.5 trillion approved in public-private partnership (PPP) bonds so far.
“This shows a misalignment between financial innovation and national priorities,” he said.
Call for Institutional Reforms
The SEC boss called for a “reimagined SEC” that acts not only as a regulator but also as an enabler of private sector-driven growth.
“Vision without execution is inertia—and reform without measurement is aspiration without accountability,” Agama declared, emphasizing that the next decade of reforms must be anchored on trust-building, transparency, and inclusion.