Roqqu, a Nigerian cryptocurrency startup that enables customers to purchase and promote digital belongings and entry crypto-backed loans, drew greater than 30,000 customers to its futures derivatives product throughout beta testing, in line with Emmanuel Peter, the corporate’s Head of Buying and selling and Markets.
The locally-built futures contract, which launched in beta in December 2025 and is now out of beta, continues Roqqu’s push past its core purchase, promote, and swap providing right into a broader suite of superior buying and selling instruments.
Peter mentioned the beta numbers had been a sign that merchandise constructed inside Roqqu’s personal ecosystem may maintain their very own.
“We have already got [over] 30,000 accounts that began testing and utilizing it through the beta interval,” he mentioned. “It’s reassuring to us that issues developed inside our ecosystem are interesting to customers.”
Roqqu is making ready to launch crypto playing cards and a locally-built prediction market, positioning itself towards opponents like Luno and Busha, that are additionally widening their product stacks.
The startup is betting that decrease charges and elevated performance will drive adoption amongst merchants. Throughout beta, futures trades had been free, however Roqqu has since launched a 0.1% price after formally launching the product.
“Futures is a high-frequency market, so if the price just isn’t low, [users] find yourself paying lots simply to commerce,” Peter mentioned. “[Our users] are liking the expertise, and it’s low-cost to make use of.”
The renewed concentrate on playing cards marks a return to a product Roqqu beforehand shelved. The corporate launched digital playing cards in 2022 however discontinued them amid reliability challenges, in line with Peter.
“We would have liked playing cards that truly work in every single place,” Peter mentioned. “Not playing cards that decline while you attempt to make funds. We’re coming again with one thing manner higher; playing cards you need to use in any market, native or worldwide.”
The brand new card product, anticipated inside weeks, will likely be powered by crypto and constructed with multinational companions, in line with Peter.
Roqqu’s product growth displays a broader shift in how crypto startups are positioning themselves in an business that’s evolving past easy buying and selling.
Busha, a Nigerian crypto startup, is rebranding itself as a broader digital finance platform, including loans and playing cards, whereas Luno has begun exploring merchandise like prediction markets. Globally, exchanges like Bitget and Bybit, which function in Nigeria, have advanced into “tremendous apps,” providing every part from derivatives buying and selling to funds and financial savings merchandise, together with a buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) characteristic.
“It’s like evolve or die,” Peter mentioned. “If you happen to’re not in a position to evolve quick, the business might change so quickly that you simply’ll be enjoying catch-up.”
That philosophy underpins Roqqu’s product roadmap. Past futures and playing cards, Roqqu is constructing a prediction market, a derivatives market that enables customers to take a view on real-world occasions and earn cash. The startup can be exploring tokenisation and reward-based merchandise, all developed in-house with a product-first ideology, mentioned Peter.
In 2025, Roqqu acquired Flitaa, a Kenyan-based crypto alternate, as a part of its growth technique, however the startup continues to run independently. Peter declined to touch upon Flitaa’s operations, noting that “operationally, it’s not the identical firm,” although Roqqu retains possession.
Roqqu’s aggressive product push comes as crypto corporations in Nigeria navigate a altering regulatory panorama. The Central Financial institution of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigeria Income Service (NRS), the nation’s tax authority, now oversee payment-based digital belongings, whereas the Nigerian Securities and Alternate Fee (SEC) regulates belongings that behave like securities beneath the Digital Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) framework launched in February 2026.
Peter mentioned the tempo of innovation in crypto—from stablecoins to new buying and selling devices—is forcing corporations to adapt shortly. Roqqu’s push is a response to that tempo.
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