TL;DR Breakdown
- Kenya, Nigeria lead crypto adoption in Africa.
- Both African country lead globally in P2P transactions.
Over the past months, there has been a sharp surge in crypto adoption in the African continent.
Chainalysis recent report provides evidence to this claim, especially as it fingers West African Nigeria and East African Kenya as two countries leading in P2P transactions globally.
Nigeria and Kenya are also ranked in the Chainalysis report as 5th and 6th highest as far as crypto adoption is concerned globally.
Why Kenya rise in crypto adoption, P2P transactions
Reportedly, the reason behind the crypto adoption surge in Africa and P2P transactions is the fall in the value of currencies in these countries, which leads to inflation.
Chainalysis report was based on data extracted from two of the largest and most popular P2P platforms, LocalBitcoins and Paxful, which provides clear insight into market happenings.
According to the Central Bank of Kenya, the country’s currency has depreciated by 6.3 percent against the US dollar since January this year.
Many emerging markets face significant currency devaluation, driving residents to buy cryptocurrency on P2P platforms to preserve their savings,” according to the report.
However, the African currencies never saw any massive loss of value so far this year. It indicates that African citizens shift to P2P crypto trading as an effort to make affordable and easy international transactions. P2P platforms help users avoid high commissions of making international transfers.
Cryptos allow users to circumvent certain limits, which helps them meet their financial requirements.
Crypto adoption is so deep in Kenya that rural dwellers trade with digital assets. Emmanuel Kahnidi is a 26-year-old farmer in the country who sells his produce for cryptocurrencies. Kahindi highlights that crypto (Safaru) has enabled him to save his fiat while also earning in crypto.
The case is the same in Nigeria, with every Tom, Duck, and Harry exploring ways to get on the crypto trend.
