A report by top cryptocurrency exchange platform Binance has revealed that Nigeria leads the world in the adoption of crypto in 2021, despite the federal government ban on the trading of digital assets in the country. 

In a blog post, Binance ranked Nigeria in the top five countries for crypto adoption based on a Statista survey. Nigeria topped the list at 32 per cent, over Vietnam, the Philippines, Turkey and Peru.

“Topping the list is the African nation of almost 200 million people, mainly on the younger, more tech-savvy side. With most Nigerians adept at sending money and paying through their phones, almost a third of Nigerians surveyed by Statista have used or owned crypto at some point,” the report states. 

Nigeria’s adoption and rates of cryptocurrency trades have continued to rise despite staunch opposition from the government.

Last week, UsefulTips reported that nearly $40 million worth of Bitcoin was traded in the last 30 days by Nigerians and On Google trends, Nigeria continues to top on searches for Bitcoin. 

Though the Central Bank banned the trades of digital currencies in February, claiming the decision was made to protect Nigerians from the volatility of the market, it turned around to announce a trial run of its own digital currency from October. 

The CBN last year, at the height of the #EndSARS protests, restricted financial institutions from receiving or making crypto payments.

The restricted accounts belonged to predominantly young Nigerians who contributed to the running of  the #EndSARS protests. When the Buhari-led regime blocked the Feminist Coalition accounts, a bitcoin wallet was set up which attracted cryptocurrency donations on a global scale.