Topic: Nigerian Leads the Crypto (Bitcoin)World in Africa (Read 530 times)

Starting from the time countries don't fully know of cryptocurrency and especially bitcoin, Nigerian has been the first that adoption the system of cryptocurrency, this analysis started from the initial something, and if not the government of Nigerian that interrupted the massive adoption of cryptocurrency in Nigeria the population size would have been more larger than this, in Africa Nigerian is number to embrace cryptocurrency, that doesn't mean that they most populated country in Africa but what i found out is that they know the relevant of bitcoin from the initial.

You're right, this has been said repeatedly on several publication articles in the recent months and I've also heard about Nigeria been the third in place on the global world ranking for bitcoin subscribers on the internet, two things can be considered here, first it has the highest population in Africa and is a developing country, secondly the country have a large number of unemployed youths seeking for alternative with financial and economical means of rescue through bitcoin because I also learnt that the CBDC introduced in Nigeria had experience low interest from citizens to participate in.

The data you include as being relative to 2021 seems to be originated from a survey conducted by Statista, and more specifically derived from 2020 data: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1202468/global-cryptocurrency-ownership/
(I’ve seen the figures in articles such as this one, which point to Statista as their source).

I’m not a particular fan of Statista in general terms. The above data is derived from their Global Consumer Survey, which is performed, as per their own description (page 24) through online surveys. Nigeria has, again as per Statista’s data a 34,3% mobile internet penetration. The BTC user questions could, therefore, perhaps be misrepresenting the general population, and the overall figure vs general population be quite lower.

I'm not worried about those statistics, and certainly the increase that's happened in Nigeria so far is proof that people are starting to make cryptocurrencies for various purposes. Business, trading, investing, storage of value, means of payment are some of the use cases and I think people are getting very familiar with crypto.

As far as I know, Nigeria is one of the countries that currently has a contribution to crypto regardless of the destination. Great, it will get better and stronger in the future.

Nigeria is indeed a country with bitcoin users, even in 2021 Nigeria will be the country with the most bitcoin users.

- Nigerian 32%
- Vietnamese 21%
- Philippines 20%
- Turkey 16%
- Peru 16%
- Switzerland 11%
- China 7%
- United States (USA) 6%
- Germany 5%
- Japan 4%.

The devaluation of Nigerian naira is a secondary reason why people in Nigeria are embracing cryptocurrency. The fall of currencies is not applicable to only Nigeria, it is global. Many currencies of the world has collapsed and I also think that it is not the major reason for  crypto adoption. It is only people that have gotten enough money will begin to save for the future  majority of people in Nigeria do not have enough for their daily feeding, shelter and clothing let alone to save.

The main drive of the acceptance of cryptocurrency in Nigeria is because of unemployment. The youths are desperate to see what will give them money, that is why they embrace cryptocurrency more than their counterparts. If you check the index of Ponzi schemes you will understand that Nigerians are also the most defrauded  This is to show that they don't have permanent means of earning living which is largely caused by bad governance.

Nigerians are positive about cryptocurrency trading. And since it was introduced to Nigerians many of them who were into sports betting solely for money switched into cryptocurrency. However, many Nigerians have trading bots that is viral and used by many traders around the nations. The population of Nigeria is too high but bitcoin is a house hold name both old and young people know about Bitcoin. So the number there can be said to be incorrect compared to the total population in Nigeria and the number of youths In Nigeria who learn, trade and buy Bitcoin.

I think that the only area of cryptocurrency (bitcoin) where Nigerians do not now dominate is mining, and this is because the cost of production is not viable in Nigeria; otherwise, I believe that the world would already be turning its attention away from China and toward Nigeria.

It is only in Nigeria you find out that they have literally invested in any projects that are well known and popular, they are the ones dominating P2P with good records known by centralized and decentralized exchanges, and they make good use of any opportunity they see in this crypto industry and do you know why? It is simply a result of failed government, the government has failed the citizens and now the citizens have taken their future into their hands by investing in things that can safeguard their future and this is just the beginning if you ask me.

There is only one Bitcoin ATM in Nigeria, which was launched in 2020 by a company known by the name "Blockstale". The ATM is at Dazey Lounge and Bar, Ajah Lagos. I don't know if the ATM is still functional because the last time I read about it was in 2020 and since then, there has been no recent update until 2021 when the Blockstale CEO had an interview with Ventures Africa due to the ban placed on the use of cryptocurrency in the country by the apex bank.

This analysis could have been done years ago, because the level of acceptance of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency among Nigerians is rapidly increasing. Due to the high rate of unemployment in the country, Nigerians discovered Bitcoin as a way out because they are certain of making a profit after some time of trading, and many of us are in the forum earning money through signature campaigns, which has actually reduced the rate at which youths rely on the government for job opportunities because they can provide for themselves through Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency.

Yeah there are bitcoin ATM in Nigeria, the number is what I am not certain about. I have heard of one which was actually the first one here in Nigeria around the 2020 or so. It was situated at a lounge in lagos (Dazey lounge). Although south Africa as a country has more in Africa.

Zimbabwe is actually part of the top African countries that trades in bitcoin according to some news outlets/blogs. South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Ghana according to this link.
I didn't see Central African Republic in it also, last I read it was the only African country that uses bitcoin as their central Currency.

I don't know how this information was collected because this looks like rankings are based on population or how tech savvy it's citizens are... But nevertheless, for me if this was based on crypto news originating from these countries, South Africa and Nigeria would be topping my list.

Btw does Nigeria have bitcoin ATMs like South Africa 

And one last thing, how come I don't see Zimbabwe on that list, because we all know these guys didn't/don't have a currency to use and they resorted to using the US dollar, Rands and some bitcoin, and not forgetting Zimbabwe was making crypto headlines way before crypto got to some of these countries ... So how is it that these guys aren't on the list???

I'm not surprised to see an information like this though, as I have known --atleast for a while -- that' in Nigeria, peeps take crypto very personal 😌 (allow me to use that). Mostly youths are into HODLing coins; some even do these, bypass those protocols for risk management, just to earn the day's meal. I wasn't even surprised when an aged man was captured, trading in forex, Gold --, with its volatility, an old Nigerian brain could reckon? that was mind-blowing.

The number isn't bad as though, crypto needs alot more initiators..... The vaccum could accumulate any number. It's only enhancing the crypto world's mobility, which is the same thing everyone cares about.

Sandra 💇

Although the information in the graph appears to be logical to some extent, the source is not completely reliable and we do not know the way in which these statistics were collected. What caught my attention in this list of countries are two points: First, Nigeria is the only country that uses the CFA franc, which was founded by France during the period of its colonization of many African countries, and today it is still draining the wealth of those countries with this unfortunate financial system, which made the peoples wishing to emancipate find refuge in the use of Bitcoin. At the same time, he was surprised that no other countries were victims of the CFA franc. Secondly, I was amazed at the absence of both Egypt and Algeria from the list due to my keeping pace with the development in these two countries, and I thought that the percentage of their contribution must be significant, at least according to the number of their population, which is the largest in the continent.

I can't really say the figure is too small because if compared my territory to other places, it might clear that the number might be correct. There are plenty of youths knows about Bitcoin but not all that have the awareness or knows Bitcoin is using it. It is only few. But I am very much pleased to hear that Nigeria is toping the African continent on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
If really Nigeria is leading the crypto ecosystem in Africa there is possibility that if the next president is youth friendly, he might adopt Bitcoin as a legal tender in the country and at that things will be very much ok for the youths.

Nigerians into crypto are way more than a 13million. Nevertheless is quite a figure to tell how far crypto has gone in Nigeria's society. One thing about Nigeria is that they don't venture into what will not yield success. Crypto is what has come to their rescue, to sustain them from the high rise of the unemployment rate. They are ready to risk it despite the government ban.

The 13million Nigerians are mostly youths. The youths are longing for a great change for them to be financially free, independent and escape poverty hovering around the country.

Am happy that Nigerians have already adopted cryptocurrency as another means of surviving than being solely dependent on failed government that refuses to provide employment and a liable environment to nurture talent and ambition.

I still believed that the ENaria could have been used by those who are not into Bitcoin, as payment method. But I assume the people of Nigeria do not trust their central Bank after taking wrong decisions in the past?

Also, Do you live in Nigeria? Because I would like to check a reliable source on the statistics of the adoption of the Enaira so I can compare it with the adoption of decentralized cryptocurrencies. 

I wonder if you could help me out with it?

No question about Nigeria being the top African country in terms of cryptocurrency adoption. Despite the uncertainty of cryptocurrency in adopting to banks where they are currently banned, Nigerians are finding ways to continue trading in terms of P2P.

The Nigerian government just needs to regulate cryptocurrency usage in banks, institutions, etc.

It is not something new about the high rate of cryptocurrency users in Nigeria. Nigeria is a country that loves to embrace new technology, especially its youths. Crypto is a youth thing because they love the digital system, I talked to my cousin of 18yrs and he told me that formerly if you are rich as a teen,people will know because of your lifestyle, presently it is impossible for you to know a rich teenager because he has invested or saved all his money into crypto and anytime he needs to spend he just converts his coins into fiat money immediately and so many more. Also corruption from policemen and other law enforcement agaencies have also helped the youth to invest in crypto and naira devaluation.

This law enforcement agencies embarrass and intimidate teenagers by arresting them illegally, asking the teens to bail themselves on their way to the police station. If the police sees that you don't have fiat currency in you possession, they might let you go freely or you pay alittle amount. If you have so much on you then you will be extorted by the police. Nigeria government doesn't want cryptocurrency in the country but because of its decentralized system they have no power to stop its use in the country. Nigerians in other neighbouring countries are the ones even teaching the citizens about cryptocurrency.

Since nearly all Nigerian youths are now aware of bitcoin and use it as a source of income, the statistics for Nigeria may possibly be far higher than that figure. Due to the fact that it is so widely used in the nation, many people have decided to utilize it as a business alternative, a way to save money, and for both domestic and international transactions. I still expect the number to increase shortly, as more users are eager to use it more every day.


The so-called E-naira is already on its way to death, or should I just say it is dead. It was brought there as an alternative to fiat money. It was introduced to compete with other cryptocurrencies like bitcoin because everyone is now switching to digital currency and its mass acceptance is becoming a viral phenomenon. This is nothing more than a trap set by the government to control the use of digital money through its centralized system. Little did the young people fell for it and stopped using the E-naira.