The human face of crypto: 5 figures that shaped Nigeria’s blockchain story in 2025

Nigeria’s blockchain story in 2025 is not just about price charts, policy debates, or trading volumes. It is about people. Builders, operators and advocates who stayed the course through volatility and regulation in Africa’s most complex crypto markets and still found ways to create value. This year, as adoption deepened and infrastructure matured, the human layer of Nigeria’s blockchain ecosystem came into sharper focus.

To understand who truly shaped the year, I spoke with founders, developers, investors, regulators, exchange operators and editors across the Nigerian Web3 space. Some were happy to go on record, while others preferred anonymity.

What stood out was the consistency. Across interviews with figures such as TechCabal’s Frank Eleanya, TechPoint Africa’s Bolu Abiodun, and multiple unnamed ecosystem players, the same individuals were repeatedly mentioned as having an outsized impact in 2025.

From stablecoin infrastructure to consumer exchanges, and from open-source funding to continental expansion, these five individuals stood out for the substance of their work.

And, the scale of their influence offers a human lens into how Nigeria’s blockchain sector matured this year and helps explain why 2025 felt like a turning point for blockchain in Nigeria.

So, here are the top 5 figures that shaped Nigeria’s blockchain (crypto) story in 2025

Abubakar Nur Khalil– CEO, Btrust

Abubakar represents the long game, while much of Nigeria’s crypto conversation focuses on trading and payments.

As the CEO of Btrust, an organisation that has quietly shaped the foundations and focused on funding and supporting open-source Bitcoin development in Africa, his work addressed a quiet but critical gap: talent retention.

Abubakar Nur Khalil, CEO, Btrust

The organisation’s work around developer capacity building has helped Nigerian engineers access global funding and mentorship. In 2025, as global demand for African blockchain engineers surged, that impact became more visible.

Btrust-backed programmes helped keep skilled developers building within the continent. More Nigerian developers began contributing to core Bitcoin and Lightning projects, not just building local apps. That shift moved Nigeria from being a user market to a contributor economy.

Abubakar’s leadership was repeatedly mentioned as critical in shifting the narrative from consumption to contribution.

His influence is measured in repositories, grants and sustained developer careers. It is less visible to consumers but foundational to everything else.

2. Owenize Odia– General Manager Africa,Blockchain.com

Owenize stood out for a different reason. Global firms have long circled Africa. Few have committed deeply.

Blockchain.com’s expansion across Nigeria and other African markets in 2025 signalled renewed confidence in the region. Under her leadership, the company moved beyond surface-level presence. It invested in local partnerships, compliance engagement, and user education. 

Owenize Odia, General Manager Africa at Blockchain.com

For many stakeholders I spoke to, this expansion helped normalise crypto infrastructure at scale and reassured regulators that global players were willing to engage responsibly.

3. Charles OkaforMbah– Cloud Solutions Engineer, cNGN

The rise of cNGN was one of the most talked-about stories in Nigeria’s blockchain circles in 2025. By November, over723.2 million had been minted, with over 158,894 on-chain transactions and a total trading volume of over 46.5 billion cNGN, driven by demand for a stable, on-chain representation of the naira. 

Behind those numbers were systems that had to work reliably in a volatile environment. Several experts pointed to Charles’ technical stewardship as a quiet but essential factor in cNGN’s breakout year.

He played a pivotal role in building and maintaining the cloud infrastructure that kept cNGN resilient under rapid growth. His contribution speaks to a broader shift. Nigerian blockchain projects are no longer experimental side projects.

They are production systems with uptime, security and scalability expectations.

Charles OkaforMbah – Cloud Solutions Engineer, cNGN

cNGN’s breakout year put stablecoin infrastructure at the centre of Nigeria’s digital economy conversation. Engineers like Charles made that possible.

4. Ayotunde Alabi– CEO, Luno Nigeria

In 2025, Ayotunde represented scale and consistency. Luno has been in Nigeria longer than many exchanges; in 2025, that patience paid off. Luno expanded its African user base beyond six million, reinforcing its position as one of the continent’s leading crypto platforms. 

His impact was not framed around aggressive growth alone. Sources emphasised product stability, regulatory dialogue, and a focus on everyday users navigating inflation and cross-border payments. In a market prone to shocks, that steadiness mattered.

Under Ayotunde’s leadership, Luno Nigeria doubled down on education, compliance and user experience. What stood out was not just scale but tone. Luno maintained a cautious, transparent approach in a country where crypto scepticism remains high in official circles.

That balance helped normalise crypto for everyday Nigerians, from students to small business owners.

Ayotunde Alabi, CEO of Luno Nigeria

His impact lies in making participation feel legitimate and sustainable.

5. Benjamin Onomor– CEO, Roqqu

Benjamin, rounded out the list with a clear expansion story. Roqqu’s growth story in 2025 was defined by regional ambition. The acquisition of Flitaa expanded its footprint beyond Nigeria and signalled confidence in African-led exchanges competing at scale.

His leadership was cited as proof that Nigerian-founded platforms could compete, acquire, and scale across borders without losing local relevance.

Roqqu focused on product depth and operational maturity. It invested in compliance, customer support and cross-border functionality. That discipline paid off as users looked for reliable platforms amid market uncertainty.

Benjamin Onomor – CEO, Roqqu

Its trajectory reflects a broader trend. African exchanges are no longer content to be local champions. They want continental relevance.

Putting it all together

This story is not an ode to any single founder but a snapshot of an ecosystem moving from improvisation to structure. People like Abubakar, Owenize, Charles, Ayotunde and Benjamin do different things. Some write code. Some build teams. Some negotiate with regulators.

Yet, together, they show how a market can professionalise in a single year. 

If 2025 gave Nigeria clearer rules and deeper products, it was because these actors turned ideas into systems. That human work is the real story behind the numbers.

As Frank Eleanya observed, 2025 was shaped by tangible milestones, from cNGN’s rapid adoption to Blockchain.com’s African push, Roqqu’s acquisition strategy, and Luno’s user growth. These were not isolated wins. They reflected leadership choices.

Nigeria’s crypto future looks promising. With deliberate policy actions and this human infrastructure, now stronger than it was a year ago, we can confidently conclude that the best is yet to come.

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