Africa is the leader in cryptocurrency adoption

• Africa remains one of the fastest growing and most promising regions for cryptocurrency adoption.
• P2P platforms are in great demand among the inhabitants of the continent.
• Cryptocurrency in Africa is actively used for making money transfers.

Africa, the smallest cryptocurrency economy in the world with $ 105.6 billion in transactions over the past year, remains one of the fastest growing and most promising regions.

In a preview of the report "Geography of Cryptocurrency" (full version to be published later), the cryptoanalytic company Chainalysis presented its own statistics, according to which the cryptocurrency market in Africa has grown by 1,200% over the past year, which is more than 50% higher than the average for the world.

The highest cryptocurrency adoption rates are seen in Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania. These countries also hit the top 20 of the Global Cryptocurrency Adoption Index.

"Global Index of Cryptocurrency Implementation by Country." A source.

The high adoption index in many African countries with a fairly small market volume is explained by the increased popularity of cryptocurrencies among large and small retail investors who make a fairly significant volume of small transactions. Their share in the global volume of transactions is higher than the average:

"The share of transactions depending on their volume." A source.

P2P trading is especially popular in Africa. Many African users use P2P platforms not only to "enter" the market, but also for money transfers and commercial transactions.

The growing popularity of such transfers is confirmed by statistics from LocalBitcoins and Paxful, two of the largest P2P platforms in the world.

"LocalBitcoins and Paxful Trading Volumes by African Countries." A source.

This does not include data on transactions through alternative exchange channels such as WhatsApp and Telegram groups, so the volume of P2P trade in the region is actually much higher.

Why do Africans love cryptocurrency?

According to Chainalysis, almost 96% of crypto transactions are associated with the remittance market. The population of Africa essentially does not have access to classic banking services, which is why cryptocurrencies fit perfectly into this segment. A significant part of the population regards transfers on P2P sites as an excellent tool for transferring funds within the country, yet the situation with cross-border transfers is much more interesting.

When making international transfers to and from Africa, there are two main problems:
• Large commissions;
• Government restrictions.

And all these problems are solved with the help of cryptocurrencies, which is confirmed by statistics, according to which the volume and number of money transfers in cryptocurrency is growing.

“If the government limits the amount of money that people can send abroad, the population gets creative and goes into the cryptocurrency market. Crypto products have become more user-friendly, they are attracting more people to the cryptoeconomy and helping them see that cryptocurrency is faster, cheaper and more convenient,”,— said Arthur Shabak, COO of Paxful.