Nigeria still remains the most cryptocurrency-adopting nation in Africa. The U.S. company’s Crypto index is based on the maximum sums of money that regular people and non-professional investors are ready to put into certain digital assets, in different countries.
Chainalysis revealed Sub-Saharan Africa is driving unprecedented crypto growth and usage thanks to small retail purchases, with the area handling the world’s greatest proportion (80%) of crypto retail sales of less than $1,000.
The research also emphasizes that Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest prevalence of peer-to-peer transactions worldwide. Peer-to-peer transactions in Africa account for around 6% of global crypto transaction volume, much exceeding the levels in Central and Southern Asia and Oceania, the region with the second-highest volumes in that category.
Nigeria is ranked twelfth on the planet. However, it is not the only African nation among the top 20. Kenya is ranked 19th, whereas Morocco is ranked 14. The three nations are among a group of ten where average incomes are thought to be below the level of the rest of the world.
A market where cryptocurrencies are used frequently may offer special chances for business owners and startups. The paper reveals that despite a bear market, retail usage is steady or even rising.
The report noted, “the number of modest retail transfers actually increased starting at the beginning of the bear market in May.”
The average tech-savvy young Nigerians are trading more digital assets priced in dollars as a hedge against the depreciation of the naira, their national currency. Nigeria, Africa’s largest and most populous country, has seen its currency, the naira, plunge to unprecedented lows on the black market.
Also contributing to the situation is a shortage of foreign exchange and inflation caused by local factors like Oil theft, vandalism food shortages, and energy shortages, as well as Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Startups that can enable retail, commercial, and peer-to-peer interactions appear to have a good chance of succeeding in Africa. Chainalysis reports that Nigeria, Paxful’s biggest market, and Kenya are enjoying remittance user growth rates of up to 55% and 140%, respectively.
According to a survey by price monitor CoinGecko, Nigeria has shown the most interest in cryptocurrencies of any other nation since the decrease in the value of digital assets started in April.
The research claims that many Africans now use cryptocurrency in their daily lives. Remittances and business transactions, in addition to retail transactions, have been important factors in driving Africa’s high adoption and usage rates.
The paper notes that in nations where the value of their domestic fiat currencies is declining, as we’ve seen in Nigeria and Kenya, “Crypto adoption is driven by everyday necessity, as opposed to speculation by the already wealthy.”
To attract young investors to the market, the Nigerian stock exchange plans to launch a blockchain-based platform next year.
