Nigeria is not only Africa’s largest economy; turn the population and weak currency into a powerhouse for buying and selling cryptocurrencies. It has the most Google searches for bitcoin of any country outside the United States and the most peer-to-peer cryptocurrency exchanges. If you want to join this African crypto revolution, we’ve rounded up the best ways to buy Bitcoin in Nigeria.
Given the socio-economic problems of the country, we should not be surprised by the demand for buying and selling bitcoins in Nigeria.
In a previous article, we highlighted the importance of cryptocurrency in Nigeria as the government devalued the Naira four times in fifteen months.
The difficulties this has caused for typical Nigerians in dealing with their global partners has increased the demand for a more reliable alternative currency that does not require permission. And despite government attempts to crack down on cryptocurrencies, young Nigerians are showing their ingenuity in finding ways to access this financial lifeline. So how exactly do Nigerians buy and sell bitcoin, even with strict rules?
If you are considering buying or selling bitcoin in Nigeria, you generally have two options. You are using a cryptocurrency exchange or P2P (Peer-to-Peer) platform. Of course, both have their pros and cons. The exchange has a better user experience and a much larger selection of coins, but being centralized makes it harder to avoid government interference.
P2P platforms have a different model that allows you to negotiate directly with the buyer or seller, where both set the price rather than the exchange dictating for you, but you take on a little more counterparty risk. The P2P option does not provide a simple exchange conversion experience and is limited in the coins you can exchange.
- Buying and selling Bitcoin through cryptocurrency exchanges in Nigeria
- We analyze some of the best cryptocurrency exchanges to buy and sell bitcoin in Nigeria.
- Pax volume
Paxful
Paxful is one of the leading exchanges for buying and selling bitcoin in Nigeria. It has integrated many payment options for merchants. Although the authorities have pulled back on buying bitcoin via debit card in Nigeria, Paxful has made it very easy to buy mobile money via bank transfer, such as telecom wallet solutions like MTN Mobile Money, fintech wallets like Chipper Cash, cards gift. or even an international transfer such as Western Union.
In fact, Paxful has over 300 payment options, by far the highest among all cryptocurrency exchanges in Nigeria.
Paxful does not charge for buying bitcoin on its platform; only sellers pay 0.5 to 5% depending on the payment method. Both buyers and sellers must pass a KYC check. Paxful has one of the best support systems for their customers with a strict anti-money laundering policy.
- Website: www.paxful.com
- Trading fees: 0%
- BTC Withdrawal Fee: 0.5 – 5%
- Deposit Options: Cash Deposit, Mobile Money, Wire Transfer, Chipper Cash, etc
- Minimum Transaction Value: N12,000
Quidax
Quidax is one of Nigeria’s native exchanges that caters to a significant number of local bitcoin buyers and sellers. Like Paxful, it also requires users to pass KYC before they can withdraw from the exchange.
Quidax has a very intuitive interface. And even if you don’t know how to trade, Quidax has an instant buy/sell feature that allows you to buy bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies instantly.
Quidax charges its platform based on maker or taker fees, which means that if you were to trade Naira for Bitcoin, you would have to pay a maker or taker fee in Bitcoin. But if you trade Bitcoin for Naira, you will be charged in Naira. View the full Quidax trading fee schedule here.
- Website: www.quidax.com
- Trading fees: 0%
- BTC Withdrawal Fee: 0.3 – 1%
- Deposit options: bank deposit, card deposit, wire transfer, USSD
- Minimum transaction value: not specified
Africa package
Bundle is one of the fastest growing social payment apps that allows Nigerians to buy and sell cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, BUSD, BNB etc. or even save dollars.
The mobile solution has an intuitive interface that allows you to add money using third-party solutions such as Cashlink or BUSD with Onramper. Bundle connects you directly to Bitrefill so you can easily buy gift cards to pay for items like top-up cards, movie tickets, or even book a ride and pay in cryptocurrency.
- Website: bundle.africa
- Trading fees: 0%
- BTC Withdrawal Fee: Unannounced
- Deposit options: Cashlink, Crypto, P2P
- Minimum transaction value: N505
Yellow paper
Yellow Card supports buying and selling bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in the simplest way. With a Yellow Card, you buy and sell Bitcoin via online bank transfer or cash at a local store. You can even put a yellow card in your wallet by purchasing top-up points from an authorized dealer near you. The mobile wallet is light and easy to use.
- Website: Yellowcard.io
- Trading fees: 0%
- BTC Withdrawal Fee: Free ATM withdrawals
- Deposit Options: PIN
- Minimum transaction value: not specified
Patricia
Patricia is one of the most popular wallets in Nigeria for buying and selling bitcoins. They have worked harder than any other brand to bring cryptocurrency trading to the average Nigerian who may not have heard of cryptocurrencies. With an easy-to-use web and mobile interface, you can buy or sell BTC based on Patricia’s prices.
- Website: www.mypatricia.co
- Trading Fee: Dynamic
- BTC withdrawal fee: N100
- Deposit Options: Wire Transfer, Gift Cards, Cash Delivery Time
- Minimum Transaction Value: N1,000
How to buy and sell Bitcoin P2P in Nigeria
And if you opt for a purely P2P approach, Binance P2P is easily your best bet, where you deal directly with merchants and Binance Help acts as collateral to safeguard your funds.
Payment options include direct bank transfer, PayPal, Chipper Cash or the new NGN FIAT/NGN pair. With FIAT/NGN you can now BUY and SELL FIAT NGN balance on Binance with no transaction fees in Nigerian Naira (NGN) via Bank Transfer and other payment methods.
While the official stance on buying and selling bitcoin in Nigeria is uncertain, that hasn’t stopped the growing number of local unicorns from meeting the huge demand among young Nigerians to buy cryptocurrencies. This certainly seems to continue, so if you want an alternative to Naira, choose an exchange or P2P platform that is right for you.