Nigeria is home to 3% of global Web3 developers and contributed 4% of the new Web3 talent in 2024, a new report on the country’s blockchain industry has revealed.
The Nigeria Web3 Landscape Report 2024 further revealed that Nigerian startups have cumulatively raised $130 million, with $20 million raised in 2024, a 10% dip from the $22 million raised the year prior.
The report was compiled by Hashed Emergent, the venture capital arm of blockchain development firm Hashed. Nigerian exchange Quidax, Abuja-based blockchain consultancy Convexity, and local law firm Infusion Lawyers also contributed to the report.
The $20 million raised in 2024 is the lowest in three years, reflecting a global dip in startup funding in Web3 and beyond. With the exception of artificial intelligence (AI) startups, every other sector has recorded a slowdown in financing amid broader macroeconomic challenges. In Nigeria, the 2024 figure was 64% lower than in 2022, when funding peaked at $56 million.
Infrastructure startups topped the list with 11 deals, with finance and entertainment garnering seven and two deals, respectively. A more concerning finding was that 90% of last year’s deals were funded by grants. While the grants are critical for any blockchain community to spur growth, it indicates that most startups are still in the early development phase and must rely on grants rather than sustained revenue. In contrast, only 21% of the deals in 2022 relied on grants.
Stablecoins dominated the finance sector of Nigeria’s Web3 ecosystem in 2024, the report says. This aligns with a broader regional rise in stablecoin adoption as Africans seek alternatives to costly, slow, and inaccessible traditional financial solutions, especially in cross-border funds transfer.
In Nigeria, reliance on stablecoins was heightened by a U.S. dollar scarcity amid a cash shortage, naira depreciation, and high inflation. It culminated in the launch of cNGN, a stablecoin project that offers localized solutions, in February 2025.
Despite the local developments, offshore stablecoins accounted for the lion’s share of the value received last year. The report reveals that Nigeria received $59 billion in digital assets last year, with $24 billion in stablecoins. This was twice as much as second-placed South Africa and eight times higher than third-placed Kenya.
A lack of regulations hinders fundraising efforts
Beyond fundraising, Nigeria’s consistent developer education and upskilling efforts have made it Africa’s Web3 developer powerhouse. Overall, the country accounts for 3% of global blockchain developers, and last year, it produced 4% of the total new talents in the space. In the past decade, the country’s growth in the share of Web3 developers has shot up 1,400%, the highest growth globally.
Despite the developments, the report says a lack of clear regulations is holding the sector down. According to the report’s lead author, Uchenna Edeoga, this has been a key hurdle to fundraising for these startups.
“Compared to India’s $5 billion in Web3 funding, Nigeria’s $130 million collective funding reflects a smaller ecosystem constrained by unclear regulatory climate and investor caution. A majority of Nigerian web3 startups cite funding access as a major issue,” he told one outlet.
600,000 Nigerians lose $800 million to CBEX ‘crypto’ scam
Still in Nigeria, over 600,000 investors have lost N1.3 trillion ($811 million) to Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX), a digital asset company that recently collapsed with users’ funds.
Local media reports that CBEX lured investors with promises of a 100% return on investment after 30 days. Consistent with other scams, the early investors received the promised returns, attracting thousands more into what they thought was a legitimate platform.
Following the platform’s collapse, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested two suspects believed to be among the operators. A source from the economic crimes watchdog told a local outlet that five others, including two Nigerian siblings and a British citizen, are under probe for their involvement. The EFCC is investigating who funded the firm, how it managed to evade regulatory scrutiny, and its legacy financial partners.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has come under scrutiny for its complicity as the ‘crypto’ market watchdog. However, Director General Emomotimi Agama dismissed the accusations, noting that CBEX wasn’t registered, limiting the agency’s ability to crack down on the company.
“The first responsibility of the SEC is to watch over regulated institutions within the confines of its available resources. Registration actually is the hallmark of regulation. Without registration, the possibility of regulation becomes difficult,” he said in an interview with a local outlet.
Agama further noted that no member of the public had made any reports regarding CBEX before it blew up, despite the company operating for nine months.
CBEX is the latest in a long line of ‘crypto’ scams targeting Nigerians. According to Paul Alaje, the chief economist at Lagos-based SPM Professionals, Nigerians have lost N4.8 trillion ($2.99 billion) to these scams since 2016. Accounting for the depreciation of the naira, the actual figure is close to N8 trillion ($5 billion), he added.
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