Over 60% of Nigerians use crypto for savings and long-term investing

Key Takeaways

  • 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.

In Nigeria, retail crypto users are turning to digital assets, not as a quick-payment tool but as a deliberate part of their financial strategy. Nearly two-thirds (~67%) are primarily interested in building portfolios or securing long-term security, while only a small minority use crypto mainly for day-to-day commerce. This reflects a market where users are actively managing risk, hedging against local currency decline and deploying crypto for strategic financial goals, behaviours more typical of developed-market investors than emerging-market “payment adopters”.

Source:

Quidax Report - The State of Crypto Adoption in Nigeria

Period:

2025
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Stablecoins are the most frequently transacted asset for outbound payments among Nigerian users (38.3%), outpacing bitcoin (27.3%)
  • Stablecoins lead the market, accounting for 38.3% of all crypto sent, highlighting Nigerians’ preference for stability and dollar-backed assets.
  • Bitcoin ranks second at 27.3%, showing it remains a major channel for store-of-value transfers and remittances.
  • Altcoins like SOL, ADA, SHIB, and DOGE (15.4%) attract younger and experimental users but remain secondary to stable assets.
  • Ethereum (10.2%) and BNB (8.9%) maintain moderate transaction volumes, suggesting users favor low-fee and widely accepted tokens for transfers.
Over 40% of surveyed Nigerian crypto users are students
  • Students are the largest crypto-holding group (43.6%), underscoring the youthful nature of Nigeria’s crypto community and their early adoption of digital finance.
  • Entrepreneurs follow closely (25.7%), showing strong participation from self-employed Nigerians, traders, business owners, and hustlers who use crypto for investment and business flexibility.
  • Traditional employees make up 17.4%, indicating growing acceptance of crypto beyond informal or youth circles, even among salary earners.
  • Freelancers and gig workers (5.6%) also feature, reflecting crypto’s role in global online work and cross-border earnings. Unemployed and retired individuals remain a small minority, under 3.5% combined.
Over 60% of surveyed Nigerian crypto traders earn less than $50 per month, with $10–$50 the most common profit range (36%)
  • About 60% of users make less than $50 per month, showing crypto activity is mostly at a small, retail scale.
  • The $10–$50 band (36%) is the single largest group, reflecting frequent, low-value trading or incremental investment returns.
  • Only about 30% of users earn between $50 and $500, suggesting that consistent moderate returns are less common.
  • Less than 3% of users earn above $1,000 per month, confirming that the Nigerian crypto market remains largely retail-driven rather than dominated by professional or institutional traders.
About 44% of Nigerian crypto users mostly send crypto, primarily for investments and payments
  • 56.1% of users mostly send crypto, compared to 43.9% who mostly receive it, showing an active transaction culture.
  • Investing in other platforms or projects leads as the top reason for sending crypto (29.2%), indicating strong speculative and wealth-building motives.
  • Every 1 in 4 users (25.1%) use crypto for daily transactions like bills and subscriptions, showing rising integration into everyday finance.
  • Cross-border payments (7.7%) and donations (4.6%) remain small but notable niches, signaling growing utility beyond trading.
Nigeria’s public debt has soared since 2010, with domestic debt up 2,020% and external debt up 1,000% by mid 2025
  • Nigeria’s domestic debt jumped from ₦3.8 trillion in 2010 to ₦80.55 trillion by mid-2025.
  • Foreign debts increased from $4.27 billion in 2010 to $46.98 billion in 2025, reflecting growing reliance on external financing.
  • Debt accumulation surged notably after 2020, coinciding with pandemic spending, naira depreciation, and higher fiscal deficits.
  • The widening gap between revenue and debt service raises questions about Nigeria’s long-term debt sustainability.
Borno records lowest domestic debt in North-East Nigeria at ₦22.3 billion in Q2 2025
  • The six North-Eastern states collectively owe around ₦450 billion in domestic debt as of Q2 2025.
  • Borno State maintains the lowest debt in the region at ₦22.3 billion, showing signs of controlled borrowing amid post-conflict rebuilding.
  • Bauchi State has the highest domestic debt burden of ₦143.6 billion, accounting for about 31% of the region’s total.
  • The top three states, Bauchi, Taraba and Gombe, collectively account for more than two-thirds of the zone’s total subnational debt stock.
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