The digital analytics company called Chainalysis has research done to the cryptocurrency market in Africa. From this they have been able to conclude that this market has grown enormously since last year, in addition to the region having a larger share of the total retail transaction volume compared to the global average.
Increase between July 2020 and June 2021
According to data sourced from Chainalysis, the African crypto market is said to have grown by over 1,200% between July 2020 and June 2021, with high adoption in Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania and South Africa.
According to the company, the popularity of P2P platforms here could be a major contributor to this crypto adoption. This is because some countries have restricted or banned residents from sending money to exchanges through the local banks.
During this period, the entire continent would have received approximately $105.6 billion in crypto. Still, it had a share of the market’s total transaction volume greater than any other region in the world at about 7% as opposed to the global average of 5.5%. P2P platforms, including LocalBitcoins and Paxful, are currently found to represent approximately 1.2% of all crypto-related transactions in Africa.
Relying on P2P Platforms
The relatively low number of people with bank accounts and the general ban on sending money to exchanges through local banks has meant that many residents have to rely on P2P platforms. These platforms have made huge strides, especially in these areas.
Yet crypto products worldwide are becoming more user-friendly, so that they also reach more and more people in these types of jurisdictions. It certainly offers great advantages, in terms of speed, operating costs and ease of use, among other things.
Still, there are other drivers for crypto adoption in this region as well. For example, remittances can be used as a means to circumvent governments that limit the number of funds that people can send abroad. Many users in Africa may also be using crypto as a faster and cheaper way to pay for international commercial transactions and to hold their savings to avoid potential fluctuations in the value of their fiat currency.
Although the crypto market in Africa has made great strides in the past year, it is still unknown whether this growth will continue, and if so, at what pace.