Over 1 in 3 Nigerians invest in cryptocurrencies

A recent Nigerian report, titled “Into the Cryptoverse”, showcases 35% of the Nigerian population within age 18-60 are actively participating in crypto investments and transactions, including Bitcoin. The report highlights the impact of digital assets on the relatively ‘youthful’ Nigerian population, where a majority of the investors(52%) are less than 30 years old. 

Falling Naira Leading to Crypto Acquisition??

The Nigerian official currency Naira is undergoing consistent depreciation, dropping over 209% within a 6-year period. As a result, 37% of investors have been acquiring crypto for the long haul, making transactions for over 3 years. Meanwhile, 27% of the crypto owners started crypto investments in the last 6 months. The aforementioned report detailing crypto adoption in various countries as per population highlighted Nigeria, where the total number of adult crypto traders or investors within the last 6 months has totaled 33.4 million.   

Also Read: Top Cryptocurrencies to Invest in 2022

A Lack of Internet Access

The report also addresses poor internet infrastructure in Nigeria, which makes the statistics even more significant. Till January 2022, only 51% of the Nigerian population had internet access, but more than 86% of them were well-versed with cryptocurrencies. In early 2021, Nigeria topped the list for Bitcoin searches according to Google Trends. 

The report also mentions that 70% of the aforesaid Nigerian crypto owners acknowledge their intentions of buying additional cryptocurrencies in the upcoming days. Also, 6% of the Nigerians without crypto assets will be investing within this year.    

Also Read: Crypto Investments: Viable Alternatives in the US Financial Literacy Survey

Portfolio Diversity

Surveyed reports on Nigerian investors offer meaningful intel on their portfolio diversification habits. The investors on average place 60% of their resources in crypto investments, 20% in banks, and 7% in non-native denominations. The remaining is kept in additional financial instruments. All things considered, over 52% of the Nigerian crypto investors are keeping over half of their wealth in digital assets. 

Further details also reveal that 22% of the crypto investors keep over 90% of their entire savings in bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. The age demographic for this group is slightly higher than the others and they opt to utilize crypto not for trading, but for conventional transactions. 

Other Insights: Investor Outlook and Gender Parity

The report also offered insight on additional subjects like gender parity and long-term investment outlook. The African nation showed equal participation in crypto investments gender-wise. Nigerian investors imbibe an entrepreneurial spirit with 62% putting their trust in crypto. Half of them are in it on a long-term basis, while 40% plan to utilize crypto gains in other businesses. 36% of the investors are considering crypto as an additional revenue source. While 26% have accepted crypto investments as their primary income stream.

Conclusion

P2P crypto trading is widespread in Nigeria as the nation’s central bank has banned crypto transactions. The growing crypto prominence in Nigeria puts the spotlight on the possible implications of a failing currency, and why crypto may very well be a sustainable alternative.