Director-General of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Nigeria, Dr Emomotimi Agama, has identified West Africa as one of the most dynamic global regions for virtual asset adoption, fuelled by its youthful and increasingly tech-savvy population.
He made this assertion while addressing stakeholders at the West Africa Compliance Summit organised by the Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) in Praia, Cape Verde.
Agama said the rapid growth of virtual assets in the sub-region demanded immediate deployment of advanced Regulatory Technology (RegTech) and Supervisory Technology (SupTech) tools by financial regulators.
According to him, the tools have become indispensable for enhancing the detection, monitoring, and reporting of suspicious transactions within an increasingly digital financial ecosystem.
He pointed to significant economic shifts in the region, citing data that showed over $20 billion in remittances flowed into West Africa in 2024.
Traditional remittance channels, he noted, charged up to 10 per cent in fees, making cryptocurrencies, especially stablecoins, like USDT and USDC, an attractive alternative for faster and cheaper cross-border transfers.
In Nigeria alone, Agama disclosed that cryptocurrency transactions topped $56 billion last year, a figure driven by persistent naira volatility, cedi depreciation in Ghana, and chronic foreign exchange shortages.
These conditions, he said, had accelerated the move toward what he described as ‘crypto-dollarisation,’ with more young professionals now demanding to be paid in stablecoins, with businesses embracing platforms such as Binance Pay for international trade.
According to Agama, Nigeria ranks as the third-largest adopter of cryptocurrency globally, following only India and Vietnam.
He attributed this to West Africa’s demographic profile, where more than 60 per cent of the population is under the age of 25 and inclined toward mobile-first, digital financial solutions.
