35% of Nigeria's Population is Invested in Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrencies

A new report suggests that over 1/3 of Nigerians aged 18-60 are investing in and/or trading Bitcoin and various cryptocurrencies. The report revealed that,

• Most investors are young, with the median age being 18.4 years old 
• Many are long-term investors due to the lowering value of Nigeria’s currency, the Naira 
• 37% of Nigerian investors have been invested for more than three years 

These numbers are expected to grow as the report shows that 70% of Nigerian investors plan to increase their investments in digital assets over the next six months.  

It comes as no surprise that the COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the entire world. Nigeria is especially feeling the impact as they are currently experiencing the worst reported inflation rates since 2008. With their currency continuing to suffer as a result, Nigerian investors are turning to Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as alternative sources of stores of value and hoping to ultimately protect their assets. In fact, up to 26% of Nigerian investors were reported to have started investing in digital assets within the last 6 months.  

On average, Nigerians are allocating 60% of their portfolios to digital assets followed by 20% to cash or bank deposits, and 7% to foreign assets. 22% of Nigerian investors, which are also referred to as “super crypto investors”, allocate an astounding 90% of their portfolios to virtual currencies.  

It’s likely that the total amount of crypto investors would be even higher if more Nigerians had access to appropriate resources that make these investments possible. To date, just 51% of the Nigerian population has access to the internet. What makes these statistics even more staggering is that, according to a Google Trends report, Nigeria had the largest number of crypto-related Google searches worldwide in 2021. 

Gender Consistency 

The study showed an equal 50/50 split between women vs. men crypto investors in Nigeria, which has led to the conclusion that gender has not been a factor when finding a quick, alternative means for investing.  

Crypto Investing Among African Countries 

In one years’ time, African countries are showing a 1,386.7% increase in monthly crypto-related transactions, with the number of users increasing by 2,467.2% in the same time period.