Crypto is big in Africa in recent years. Read on to discover which countries lead the way in usage and how, ownership trends, and more of the latest data on crypto adoption in Africa.
How Widespread Is Crypto Adoption in Africa?
All recent studies indicate that even though the African crypto market is the smallest globally, it is one of the fastest-growing ones. Data suggests that the African crypto market grew by a massive 1,200% between July 2020 and June 2021.
(Chainalysis)
Five of the top 20 countries by crypto adoption rate are African countries.
The above figure best illustrates how rapid cryptocurrency adoption in Africa has been recently.
The five African countries featured in the top 20 of the 2021 global crypto adoption index were Kenya at the number five spot, immediately followed by Nigeria, Togo at number nine, South Africa at the 16th spot, and Tanzania at number 19.
(Chainalysis)
An estimated 45% of Nigerians have used or owned crypto.
While blockchain adoption in Africa isn’t evenly spread across all countries, Nigeria has to be the most crypto-friendly country in the region.
According to a recent survey, Nigeria is the country with the largest percentage of crypto users among its population, ahead of other countries known to be crypto-friendly, like Vietnam, Pakistan, the Philippines, etc.
(Statista)
The African crypto transaction volume between July 2021 and June 2022 reached $100.6 billion.
Even though the crypto transaction volume in Africa has increased by 16% compared to the previous year, it still only accounted for 2% of the global transaction volume.
What’s unique and interesting about cryptocurrency in Africa, however, is the way this volume is generated.
Namely, transfers under $10,000 account for 6.4% of the total crypto transaction volume, which is the highest percentage globally.
Transfers below $10,000 account for 95% of all crypto transfers made, while transfers under $1,000 account for 80% of all African cryptocurrency transfers.
This indicates that Africans use crypto to buy everyday items driven by necessity rather than trading and speculating to make wealth or expand their portfolios.
(Chainalysis)
56% of crypto owners in South Africa own Bitcoin.
Even though nowadays there are over 9,000 cryptocurrencies, the world’s first cryptocurrency is still the most popular almost everywhere in the world, and South Africa is no exception.
Ethereum is also among the top African cryptocurrencies, with 31.5% of users in South Africa owning it, followed by XRP, with a share of 25.8%.
(Bitcoin)
The Central African Republic is the first country in Africa to accept Bitcoin as a legal tender.
However, the most popular cryptocurrency in Africa is about to face strong competition as the CAR released its first national digital currency, called Sango Coin, on July 21, 2022.
The country’s new crypto is expecting investors, and anyone interested in owning Sango can buy it with an investment of at least $500.
(Reuters)
The Bottom Line
Overall, crypto adoption in Africa is growing at an impressive pace, considering that not half of the African population has access to the internet.
Unlike their European and US counterparts, most African users don’t see crypto as an investment to make wealth. Bitcoin adoption in Africa is growing because African users see crypto as a way to send remittances and make everyday purchases without going to the bank, which aligns with the idea of using crypto as an alternative to fiat currencies.
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