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Nigeria has sat near the top of global crypto rankings for years. This year, it moved to the front on the measure that says the most about how people actually use digital assets.
Nigeria now leads the world in P2P crypto trading
Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis released its 2026 Global Crypto Adoption Index on 23 September. Nigeria placed third overall, behind Brazil and the United States. On two of the four things the index measures, Nigeria came first in the world: crypto sent directly between people within the country, and crypto moving across its borders.
The ranking came in a bad year for prices. In the 12 months to 30 June 2026, the total value of all cryptocurrencies fell by about half, roughly $2.1 trillion. Even so, the crypto activity Chainalysis tracks around the world dropped by only 1.6%, from $9.5 trillion to $9.4 trillion. People kept using crypto while its price was falling, which suggests many of them rely on it for payments and savings rather than trading.
Why stablecoins like USDT are driving the growth
Most of that activity now runs on stablecoins, the coins pegged to the US dollar, such as USDT and USDC. Globally, the value of crypto sent between personal wallets within the same country jumped 302.9% to $228.7 billion, and stablecoins made up 96% of it. Stablecoin transfers across borders grew 77.5% to $220.3 billion, with an average transfer of about $3,000. Chainalysis links transfers of that size to everyday money needs such as paying for goods, sending money home, paying suppliers and saving.
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For Nigerians, the reasons are easy to see. Freelancers get paid in USDT by clients abroad, and importers use it to pay suppliers overseas. Families receive money from relatives living outside the country, while savers hold dollar coins to protect themselves when the naira weakens.
How P2P crypto trading works in Nigeria, and where it slows down
All of that crypto eventually has to become naira for rent, school fees, fuel and salaries. For most people, the way to convert crypto to naira is still P2P trading. The seller accepts an order, waits for the buyer to send payment, checks that the money has arrived, then releases the coins.
Every step depends on a stranger acting quickly and honestly. When a buyer is slow to pay, a transfer gets reversed or a bank flags an account, the seller is the one left waiting, sometimes for days while a dispute is sorted out.
How fast you can convert crypto to naira on Apexpay
For anyone looking to sell crypto in Nigeria without the back-and-forth of P2P, Apexpay takes the buyer out of the process. Users sell directly to the platform at a good rate, and the money is sent to their wallet once the coins arrive.
Most transactions on Apexpay are completed within five minutes. Bitcoin sales take about 10 minutes, mainly because the Bitcoin network needs time to confirm each transfer, while other coins are paid out in under five minutes.
Which coins you can sell on Apexpay and how you get paid
The app accepts 12 coins: Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT on the TRC20, ERC20 and BEP20 networks, USDC, Bitcoin Cash, Solana, Litecoin, BNB, Tron and Dogecoin. That means users can sell Bitcoin or sell USDT for naira from the same app.
Sellers also choose how they want to be paid: naira, cedis or USDT. A freelancer who wants to get out of a coin whose price swings a lot, but still keep their money in dollars, can take USDT. A trader in Accra can take cedis, and someone paying this month’s bills can take naira.
Apexpay 2.0, the latest version of the app, added instant transactions, separate naira and cedis wallets and stronger security, and customer support is available 24 hours a day. The app has more than 700,000 downloads on Google Play and app store, with users across Nigeria and Ghana.
How to start selling crypto on Apexpay
To sell crypto on Apexpay, download the app, create an account and choose the coin you want to sell. Apexpay is available on Google Play and the App Store.
