In the past ten years, Nigerian bank clients have lost ₦45 billion due to fraud and forgery
Over the past ten years, there has been a rising trend of fraud and forgery cases in Nigerian banks. Although there was an 88% increase in reported cases in 2021, there was a 27% decrease in 2022, resulting in a 221% increase in financial losses of ₦9.5 billion.
Wealth-building dominates motivation: 45.4% cite “active wealth building” as their primary motive, and an additional 21.8% cite “long-term financial security”.
Payments and utility are minor drivers: Only 3.3% report “daily utility” and 2.2% “digital commerce” as their chief motive for using crypto.
Hedging and cross-border flows matter: 8.7% use crypto for currency hedging, and 4.1% for cross-border payments, showing a dual role of investment plus international value flows.
Nigerian retail users treat crypto like a conventional financial instrument rather than only as a means of payment or speculation.
Nearly two-thirds (67%) of all crypto transactions in Nigeria are below ₦50,000, reflecting widespread use among everyday retail users.
The ₦15,000–₦25,000 band (28.2%) is the single largest group, showing consistent, small-scale engagement rather than high-value speculation.
Around 25% of users transact between ₦50,000 and ₦250,000, suggesting a growing middle class of more confident, mid-level investors.
Less than 3% of users transact above ₦1 million, confirming that Nigeria’s crypto market remains primarily retail-driven, not institutional or high-net-worth.
