Introduction
In order for you to buy and sell Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies in Nigeria, you will first need to make use of one of the many exchanges to purchase Bitcoin. Although there are other ways to buy Bitcoin with, such as mining it or earning it through selling products or services, utilising a Bitcoin exchange would serve to be the simplest way for you to accumulate Bitcoin.
However, with so many platforms to buy your Bitcoin in, some platforms to purchase Bitcoin in could be unregulated or are targets of theft or fraud. You wouldn’t want to lose your hard earned cash after investing in Bitcoin to hackers or thieves. As such there are also risks on top of the already volatile investments in cryptocurrencies.
Factors to consider before selecting a crypto exchange in Nigeria
There should be a couple of things to look out for before you select which exchanges to buy:
Firstly are you a novice trader or a seasoned investor in cryptocurrencies? If you are not experienced we advise you to stick with user-friendly exchanges to buycryptos that provide easily-navigable interfaces.
The cryptocurrency exchange that you want to invest with should also be trusted by the community. The exchange should have decent reviews and you want to choose a platform which is reputable
When you select your exchanges to buy cryptos in the Nigeria, you need to make sure that they have the payment option you would want. Some exchanges in Nigeria only allow for crypto-crypto exchange so it would not be good for you if you wish to exchange cryptos for fiat currency.
You will also need to make sure that the crypto that you wish to buy and sell are listed and supported on the platform. Some exchanges focus on a handful of cryptocurrencies while others generally provide a wide variety of choices if you want to broaden your investments.
When investors purchase and sell cryptos, they generally will have a crypto wallet on hand that helps them to store their invested cryptocurrencies safely and securely, so if you are just starting out you can choose an exchange that provides a in-house wallet. However you should plan to get another wallet for yourself to make sure you hold the keys to your coins.
Next, you should check out the fees that the exchanges in the Nigeria are offering and decide if they are reasonable for your use. Some exchanges to buy cryptos charge a more premium fee as their platform usually offers more features, better security or premium service compared to other competitors with a lower fee that maye just offer traditional and basic services to buy and sell cryptos.
Furthermore, you should look out for how the currency rates quoted for you on the exchange compared with other platforms are reasonable and also the payment methods that are offered by the exchanges, as the platform you select maye not provide a wide range of payment methods for you to use. For example some exchanges do not accept bank transfer/wire or debit and credit cards while others only allow cryptos to be deposited to exchange for other cryptos.
Lastly, the exchange should have some security features that protects any information you provide to them for verification purposes and your coins that you stored with them (if any). This is because you would not want to lose your investment on crypto exchanges that are not secure/
Best Cryptocurrency Exchanges in Nigeria For 2023
1. Quidax
Quidax is an exchange in Nigeria that offers crypto trading, wallet, instant service to buy and sell cryptos and also an API. It is available on mobile for both iOS and Android users.
Trading features
The most prominent feature that you can use to buy Bitcoin on this platform is their instant purchase and sell option which lets you instantly get your cryptos without having to make an advance order on the primary exchange. As such Quidax prides itself on its quick trade times.
Quidax supports a number of cryptocurrencies on their platform and this includes Bitcoin, Ripple, Ethereum, Litecoin and Tether.
Payment methods supported in Nigeria include making deposits using a debit card and Bank transfers
Fees
Quidax provides a very transparent fee structure for its users, and they depend on which services you are utilising on their platform. For example if you are making deposits using a debit card, fees would come at about 1.4% while bank transfers and direct bank deposits are not charged any fees.
There is also a 0.2% maker and 0.3% taker fee when users buy and sell on the platform while their prominent instant buy/sell feature charges a 1% fee.
Security
As of today, Quidax is one of the safest cryptocurrency exchanges in Nigeria with no history of being hacked, and they employ optimum KYC/AML rules with tiered verification levels on their website.
2. NairaEx
If you prefer a local exchange, NairaEX would be your choice as they promote themselves as “Nigeria’s Premier Bitcoin Exchange” and the only fiat currency they accept currently is the Nigerian Naira (NGN).
Trading features.
Since NairaEX only accepts the Nigerian Naira as their fiat currency, conversions between BTC and ETH or any other supported cryptos are not possible. As of today, NairaEX only supports Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin and Ethereum.
NairaEX’s prominent feature is that it is a non-custodial exchange which means they will not hold your assets in a centralized wallet which is prone to theft. Instead this exchange will send the coins directly to your wallet after the transaction is complete.
As for payment methods, currently there are only two ways you can make payments which are bank transfer and ATM transfer.
Fees
NairaEX does not charge its investors with any trading fees, however, the cost for using NairaEX services come from their higher buy and sell rates compared to other exchanges on the market.
There is no clear calculation on how their buy and sell rates are calculated but NairaEX does take a certain percentage of every buy and sell order carried out on their platform.
Security
NairaEx is a reputable and trustworthy exchange in Nigeria, and employs a 2 factor authentication code for all their user’s accounts. They also provide articles on their websites to promote account and asset safety. As such, NairaEX is one of the best exchanges to buy and sell cryptos.
3. Luno
Luno is a popular exchange that was founded in 2013 for niche markets around the world and has expanded their services to countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Uganda. They are aiming to provide a competing service to Coinbase and readily made themselves available to many countries that are not served by larger exchanges.
Trading features
Luno offers support for cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP and Litecoin on their platform. These cryptos can be purchased by its investors using a credit card or fiat trading pairs which include the Nigerian Naira. All deposits and withdrawals can be made directly with a bank transfer account. Luno also supports a instant buy/sell transaction on their platform
Luno’s user interface is clean and easily navigable meaning there shouldn’t be any problem when you just switched over from a different exchange. Luno however does have a relatively low trading volume – due to the niche markets that they are focusing on with a daily average of ~USD$4.75M over the last year.
Fees
When you buy Bitcoin in Lino, the market makers pay 0% fees while takers pay anywhere from 0.03% to 0.1% depending on the 30 day trading volume. Overall, Luno’s fees are very competitive compared to other exchanges.
Using a bank transfer for withdrawals would incur a fee of 200 Naira.
Security
Luno features a hashed form for their passwords so that no one other than yourself would ever have access to your password. Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) is also employed as an additional layer of security.
4. Binance
Binance has recently been expanding its support and services to countries including Nigeria and recently hosted its first ever Crypto Masterclass in Benin which are run by local experts and aim to educate and raise awareness about cryptocurrencies and the blockchain.
Trading features
Binance is by far the largest crypto exchange in terms of trading volume and supports over 500 crypto pairs. In order to buy and sell cryptos on Binance, the platform features 3 primary payment methods which are the credit/debit card, third party payments such as Simplex or Banxa and P2P trading where you buy cryptos using Binance’s escrow system.
Fees
Binance offers relatively low transaction fees for its users and are primarily broken down into three main types of fees which are the deposit/withdrawal fee, trading fee and P2P fees. For deposits, no charges are made for cryptos while there is a % charged depending on the type of fiat currency. A withdrawal fee is charged depending on the type of cryptos being pulled out.
For trading fees, there is a 0.1% flat fee for both maker and taker if you are paying with Crypto while it is 0.75% if you are paying with BNB.
Security
Binance employs a security feature on all its user accounts called address management which limits the wallet addresses that withdrawals can be made to. This protects your wallet from theft and limits the impact caused by potential hacks.
Binance also employs Two-Factor authentication for its accounts and assets stored are kept in cold storages in highly secured locations.
5. Kraken
Kraken along with Coinbase and Binance can be considered one of the “Big 3” of cryptocurrency exchanges in the global market and provides cryptocurrency to fiat trading on its platforms when investors want to buy and sell cryptos.
Trading features
Kraken features margin trading which is easily one attractive option for any crypto exchanges to buy Bitcoin. The exchange also supports a larger number of cryptos on their exchange so investors would have a wide variety of options for their investment choices.
Fees
Traders feature a incentives based fee that depends on your 30 day volume trading with maker fees starting at 0.16% and taker fees at 0.26% which is the highest you would expect to pay and the fees decrease the more you trade.
There are also withdrawal fees that depend on the coin you are withdrawing. On the other hand, for deposits most payment methods such as using Swift are free but that does not include any charges your bank may make you pay for.
Security
Kraken is considered one of the best crypto exchanges in terms of security as they provide cryptography-verified proof of reserve audits. What these audits do is verify the total amount of cryptocurrency held by Kraken and overall appears to be well-capitalized and very safe to use.
They also offer 2FA via Google authenticator and withdrawal confirmations made via your email once you have done your verification process.
6. Cex.IO
Cex.IO was founded in 2013 as a cloud mining provider but has grown to become a multi-functional cryptocurrency exchange providing support and services to over 3 million users applying KYC and AML policies.
Trading features
The platform allows its users to make crypto to crypto trading as well as fiat to crypto pairs. Cex.IO features an easy to user interface for beginner users as well as multiple payment methods for its investors.
Cex.IO also features a Bitcoin price calculator on its trading platform as well as a Bitcoin price widget. This platform also supports instant buy or sell as well as offering high market liquidity for its coins.
However, Nigerian users would not be able to make Bank Transfers as it is not the payment methods supported by Cex.IO
Fees
All transaction fees charged depend on your 30-day trade volume for all pairs starting at 0.25% for maker and 0.16% for taker fee and decreases as the trade volume increases up to 0.10% for taker and 0% fees charged for makers.
For deposit and withdrawal fees, Cex.io will charge you depending on what method you will use as well as the type of coin/fiat currency you are withdrawing.
Security
Cex.IO offers two factor authentication as well as a HTTPS security protocol on their site. All data on the site is also encrypted with SSL certificates to ensure that your investments are secured and protected from theft.
7. OkCoin
Okcoin is one of the most advanced and stable exchanges to buy cryptos. It is web based and more focused on professional traders but its user interface is clean and easily navigable for beginner users as well.
Trading features
The reason OKcoin is great for experienced traders is because they offer traders a variety of advanced trader types such as margin trading, futures, place Iceberg orders, trailing stop orders and TWPs.
Compared to other exchanges to buy crypto, OKCoin does not offer as many cryptocurrencies and those available for trading are only Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic and Bitcoin Cash. All of the supported currencies can be traded against both USD and RMB (Chinese Renminbi)
Payment methods include bank transfer and wire transfers and also cryptocurrencies as well. In order to make any withdrawals, similar to deposits, they are required to be made the same way through bank transfer, or wire transfers for fiat money and cryptocurrency between digital wallets.
Fees
Fee structure is low compared to other exchanges. No charges are made for maker fees but taker fees vary and drop as the trading volume increases ranging from 0.2% to 0.1%.
For futures, traders incur a 0.03% on all open positions.
Security
OKCoin employs bank level SSL security encryption and also a cold offline storage for a majority of their cryptocurrencies, GSLB and distributed servers. They have experts for real time account monitoring of all deposits and withdrawals to increase security levels.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Is cryptocurrency banned in Nigeria?
The Central Bank of Nigeria passed a circular informing financial institutions including banks that transactions using cryptocurrencies are banned in Nigeria. This does not mean that you can not buy or sell cryptos, it is just that they are not considered as legal tender.
Q: Which exchange is the best for cryptocurrency?
NairaEX,Quidax and Luno are the best crypto with variable payment methods for investors in Nigeria
Q: What can I buy with cryptocurrency?
Bitcoin are mostly used to purchase products over the internet as they are the currency in the virtual world
With over 10 years of experience working as a financial analyst, Eric is highly aware of the potential of cryptocurrency, particularly Bitcoin, and the impact it will bring towards the global economy. He is committed to share everything he knows about crypto here at Crypto Digest News.