Africa is one of the largest markets in the world. Africa has been developing at an impressive rate over the last few years. African citizens adapt easily to changes and find the best way to improve their living conditions. When cryptocurrency was developed in 2009, many people in Africa did not know about the technology, and Africa was not in a position where many people would be involved. But over the years, the number of people involved and investing in cryptocurrency has increased, making Africa the leading continent in peer-to-peer crypto trading. From a small population to millions investing in it, this explains some of the changes that made this possible.
Population growth
The high population is the first reason cryptocurrency has had a high adoption rate in Africa. Africa has the second-highest population in the world, with over 1.3 billion people living in Africa. The population is also increasing in Africa, and the average age in Africa is 19.7 years. This means that Africa’s population is mainly comprised of young people. Since most of the population in Africa are youth, this means that most of the population are people trying to create wealth and find opportunities.
As a result of the many investment opportunities that crypto offers, people have improved their living conditions. A good example of this is that Africa is the world’s leading market for P2P transactions. Since this does not require a lot to get started, many Africans have invested in the trade, bought crypto at a low price, and sold when the price increased. The large population also means that many people were introduced to the technology, thus leading to a high adoption rate in Africa.
Economy
The second reason cryptocurrency was largely adopted in Africa is due to the economic situation in Africa. Although Africa is blessed with many natural resources, the economy in the continent is still lower than most other continents. This also reflects among the people. Many struggles were getting enough income to sustain themselves and their families. As a result, many people look for alternatives that may increase their income and improve their financial situation in one way or the other. As a result, cryptocurrency offered an opportunity to many African youths. This is one of the reasons why Africa has had a 1200% growth in crypto adoption over the years.
Infrastructure Development
The infrastructure conditions in Africa have been poor in most countries before 2010. The technology used was not good enough to implement cryptocurrency in Africa. But over time, African countries have been investing in infrastructure, which has led to impressive cryptocurrency adoption in the country. Although roads have impacted the adoption rate, the main infrastructure development that has led to the improvement of cryptocurrency adoption is the internet. People must be connected to the internet to access or perform any cryptocurrency development task. In the last few years, African countries have been investing heavily to have more people connected to the internet. This has led to infrastructure development such as fibre optic cable connection, an increase in network towers, and internet balloons in areas with low internet access. Infrastructure development is one of the reasons why people in Africa have had the opportunity to invest and adopt cryptocurrency at a high rate.
Price Drop in Technology
In the last ten years, the price of some devices and technology, in general, have reduced. A good example is the price of a smartphone in Africa. When cryptocurrency was introduced or invented in 2009, the smartphone price was very high for people to afford. Over time, the price has decreased, and people can easily access the internet. Computers and laptops were also considered to be exclusive for the rich. Still, most homesteads currently have at least one person who owns one for personal, educational or professional purposes. Reducing the cost of devices used to access the internet and used in crypto means that people can easily adopt it, thus the high percentage of adoption in Africa.
Investment in Cryptocurrency
The other reason that has led to the growth of cryptocurrency in Africa is the investments made by people and organisations. Many organisations have developed operations in different countries that have helped to improve cryptocurrency adoption in Africa. Crypto in Africa is the second organisation with the largest impact in East Africa. Some organisations focus on improving cryptocurrency education and training people to make money from cryptocurrency. Some organisations that have had a huge impact include Nestcoin, which tries to build the infrastructure required to improve adoption in Africa while educating people about it.
The organisation educates and trains more people on cryptocurrency while guiding them on how they might improve their P2P skills to make more money. The organisation also pays their employees in crypto, thus improving Africa’s adoption rate and value. Through the efforts of Crypto in Africa, Kenya has become the leading market in the world for P2P transactions. Other organisations investing in educating Africans include KIPYA Bit2Big and Binance Masterclass. Another organisation that invested in Cryptocurrency in Africa is Luno Exchange in South Africa.
The platform has had a huge impact on crypto trading. It was developed in 2013 and now boasts millions of users. In 2018, 15 operations for all investors trying to improve cryptocurrency adoption in Africa commenced. As a result of many operations, in 2019, there was $30 million worth of crypto transacted in Africa in over 200,000 transactions. The number grew to $90 million, doubling the number of transactions in 2020, $140 million, and 680,000 in 2021. with time, the number will increase and lead Africa to be the frontier in cryptocurrency.
