The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has disclosed that Nigeria recorded over $50 billion worth of cryptocurrency transactions between July 2023 and June 2024.
SEC Director-General Dr. Emomotimi Agama made the disclosure at the annual conference of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers.
He expressed concern over the low participation of Nigerians in the traditional capital market, noting that fewer than four percent of the country’s adult population are active investors.
Agama noted that Nigeria’s market capitalization-to-GDP ratio is approximately 30%, significantly lower than South Africa’s 320%, Malaysia’s 123%, and India’s 92%, highlighting a substantial disparity.
The SEC boss identified low retail participation, market concentration, falling foreign inflows, underutilised pension assets, untapped diaspora capital, and a widening infrastructure financing gap as key challenges for the next phase of reforms.
He called for a “reimagined SEC” that serves as both regulator and enabler of private-sector-driven growth and emphasised the need to deepen financial inclusion, rebuild investor confidence, and focus on trust-building, transparency, and inclusion.
Agama stressed that “vision without execution is inertia — and reform without measurement is aspiration without accountability.”
The SEC boss highlighted Nigeria’s $150 billion annual infrastructure deficit, which far exceeds the market’s contribution.
He emphasised the need for alignment between financial innovation and national priorities to bridge the infrastructure financing gap.
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