The adoption of Bitcoin in Africa has swelled immensely over the past year, making it the third fastest-growing Bitcoin economy globally.
BTC adoption up by 1200% in Africa
A report produced by Chainalysis estimated the growth to be over 1,200%, which means there has been an increase in Bitcoin activities carried out by retail investors who save, remit, and exchange digital assets using different P2P platforms.
This was confirmed by the co-founder of Paxful Artur Schaback, who said the crypto app has witnessed a surge in activities from African nations, especially Nigeria and Kenya, with a 57% and 300% increase respectively in the previous year.
Currency devaluation amidst other reasons driving adoption
According to him, the banking restrictions and hostile crypto regulations on the continent have created an enabling ground for the mass adoption of these digital assets thereby making it the fastest-growing P2P Bitcoin hub globally.
A 2019 Brooklyn Institute study found out that Sub-Saharan Africa received over $48 billion in remittance from abroad. With Bitcoin P2P trading, Africans are able to circumvent the restrictions placed on foreign exchange and are able to transfer and receive more funds across borders.
Schaback highlighted this in his comment when he said “if you’re working with a partner in China to import goods to sell in Nigeria or Kenya, it can be hard to send enough fiat currency to China to complete your purchases. It’s often easier to just buy bitcoin locally on a P2P exchange and then send it to your partner.”
This was confirmed by a local trader in Nigeria, Oluchi James, who said it was quite easier to use digital assets like BTC as a payment method for “goods” outside the shores of the country.
The co-founder also opined that the deepening loss of value of national fiat currencies also played a role in accelerating Bitcoin adoption. Citing Nigeria as an example, Schaback stated that Paxful witnessed tremendous growth in the most populous black nation in the previous year especially as Naira began to witness massive devaluation.
If you have spare naira, convert it to USDT now. The value is tied to the value of the dollar and it’s easy to acquire.
Even if you don’t want to buy crypto coins, but buy it and keep. You can swap it for naira when you need it
If you don’t know which app to use, download Roqqu
— Dr. Chinonso Egemba (@aproko_doctor) September 13, 2021
This is true considering the fact that some popular social media influencers on Twitter have repeatedly advised their teeming followers to save in crypto due to the falling value of the Naira.
