Crypto adoption in Africa grows by 1200%

TL;DR Breakdown

• Kenya and Nigeria are the main countries that use cryptos.
• The Crypto adoption in Africa is waged by the economic crisis that each country is going through.

Although Europe has remained limited with cryptocurrencies, the panorama is different in regions such as Africa, where crypto adoption increases every day. The third-largest continent in the world is friendly to using cryptocurrencies. According to figures, its adoption amounted to more than a thousand percent in 2021. In this way, Africa officially becomes the territory that uses Bitcoin or other currencies the most.

Cryptocurrencies have grown disproportionately since Bitcoin, the first decentralized token, appeared in 2011. By 2021, crypto reached its all-time high value, with Bitcoin trading above $68,000. However, the crypto market has succumbed to a bearish streak for the last three months.

P2p trading with cryptocurrencies is trending in Africa

The crypto adoption in Africa reaches a level never seen before and is often attached to p2p trading. The African region accumulated about $100 billion in cryptocurrency transactions in 2021. These peer-to-peer transactions were carried out with higher priority in countries such as South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, and Nigeria, including the four countries entered in the list of the main promoters of crypto trading.

Chainalysis, a cryptocurrency-based analytics platform, indicates that the range in retail crypto transfers amounted to 7 percent. The platform also indicates that over 2 percent of Bitcoin operations come from Africa.

While the figures on cryptocurrency trading look promising in Africa, the reason citizens choose crypto trading is not a good one. A key reason for the investor to access cryptos is the financial crisis that several countries face. Crypto adoption is like a means of escape for Africans who want to save money and avoid inflation problems.

Crypto adoption in Africa revolves around ‘gambling’

Crypto adoption in Africa focuses on gambling brought by web platforms that facilitate deposits or withdrawals. But people are using crypto as a payment source between merchants and even as a form of passive investment. However, this excessive use of cryptocurrencies on the continent has also triggered various modes of scam.

Africans have preferred the use of Bitcoin to their local currency depending on the country where they are located, which is good for the market. But without good knowledge of crypto adoption, many people have fallen victim to theft and scams.

Kenya and Nigeria are the main countries that take crypto operations to another level. But this has also prompted national regulators to create laws to curb their trade.