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By Chinenye Anuforo
Nigerians are increasingly turning to cryptocurrencies and online gambling as confidence in the traditional stock market continues to wane. New figures from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) show that between July 2023 and June 2024, transactions in Nigeria’s cryptocurrency market reached $50 billion. By contrast, fewer than four per cent of Nigerian adults are active investors in the country’s equities market.
Speaking at the annual conference of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers, SEC Director-General, Emomotimi Agama, described the trend as alarming. He noted that while fewer than three million Nigerians participate in the capital market, more than 60 million people are engaged in gambling, spending an estimated $5.5 million every day. This, he said, reflects a growing preference for instant returns over long-term wealth creation.
Many young Nigerians are drawn to crypto and online betting because they offer speed, fewer barriers, and the promise of higher returns, whereas the formal stock market is often seen as slow, bureaucratic, and difficult to access. Despite hosting some of Africa’s largest companies, Nigeria’s stock market remains shallow, with a market capitalisation-to-GDP ratio of about 30 percent, far below countries like South Africa and Malaysia.
The SEC has been working to broaden participation and improve investor education through its Capital Market Master Plan 2015–2025, but Agama warned that reforms alone will not be enough if trust and accessibility are not restored. He emphasized the need to reinvent the capital market to make it more attractive, transparent, and competitive with the faster, high-risk alternatives that Nigerians are flocking to.
With cryptocurrency trading and betting continuing to draw millions, Nigeria faces a critical moment. How the country responds could determine whether the formal investment market can retain a generation of potential investors, or whether it will lose them to unregulated and speculative platforms that promise quick gains over patience and long-term growth.
