Coinbase Partners with Onboard to Enable Seamless P2P Crypto in Nigeria

This collaboration strengthens Coinbase’s ‘Go Broad, Go Deep’ strategy by providing a regulatory-compliant solution to support Nigeria’s expanding cryptocurrency market.

Coinbase Wallet has partnered with Onboard Global, a Nestcoin product, to offer Nigerians a more accessible way to buy cryptocurrency via peer-to-peer exchanges.

This marks a significant shift given Coinbase’s past restrictions in Nigeria. Previously, while users could send, receive, and convert crypto, full access to cryptocurrency features was unavailable. The company had attributed these limitations to regulatory restrictions on transactions in certain high-risk regions.

This strategic approach lets Onboard handle compliance requirements, providing a safeguard that allows Coinbase to grow its presence while remaining within regulatory limits.

With the Onboard P2P platform, Nigerians can now transact in minutes using local currency, and purchases below $100 can be made without ID verification.

Onboard Wallet merges centralized and decentralized models, providing greater asset control than traditional exchanges like Bybit  while enabling on/off ramping without third-party integrations.

This seamless P2P trading experience aligns with Onboard’s goal of making crypto transactions more accessible, a vision now reinforced by its integration with Coinbase Wallet in Nigeria.

Some Onboard users welcomed the news with enthusiasm. “This is great because KYC can be unnecessarily stressful,” said Juliet, an active user of the platform for the past seven months.

Nigeria is the first market where Coinbase Wallet has integrated Onboard’s peer-to-peer exchange. The company plans to expand this payment option to over 50 countries within the next year, starting with Argentina, India, Indonesia, Kenya, the Philippines, and Turkey.

The integration has sparked security concerns, especially regarding transactions between unfamiliar parties without KYC verification.

Although Onboard has not outlined specific security measures, it assures users of a seamless experience through a seedless wallet and direct bank transfers, eliminating the need for centralized exchanges, as stated in previous Nestcoin announcements.

Onboard’s growth has accelerated since its September 2024 rebrand, backed by Coinbase Ventures and LAVA. That same month, Nestcoin secured $1.9 million in strategic funding from Hashed Emergent, the Base Ecosystem Fund, Adaverse, and other investors.

Coinbase’s expansion in Nigeria aligns with its “Go Broad, Go Deep” strategy, which balances global reach with market-specific solutions. While “Go Broad” focuses on deploying core tools like Coinbase Wallet globally, “Go Deep” adapts services to regions with well-defined crypto regulations.

Nigerians using Coinbase Wallet can now purchase crypto effortlessly through local payment methods by choosing the “Pay with Onboard P2P” option, which links them to sellers and ensures quick transactions within minutes.

While KYC-free trades raise security concerns, escrow protections provide some level of assurance. Meanwhile, Nigeria’s growing reliance on on-chain transactions is reshaping traditional finance, coinciding with Coinbase’s regional expansion.

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