- According to the CEO of Paxful, Nigeria has 1.5 million users and has contributed $1.5 billion in trading volume.
- Twitter’s Jack Dorsey says Nigeria is the future of Bitcoin trading.
Bitcoin adoption has seen steady growth among some countries in Africa led by Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Ghana and others. Beyond doubt, Nigeria has been the biggest market for Bitcoin peer-to-peer trading volume in recent months despite the strict regulatory policies.
🌍#Bitcoin https://t.co/5RgLqdfk7k
— jack (@jack) June 13, 2021
In February 2021, the Central Bank of Nigeria clarified that Bitcoin and other cryptos are not legal tender, and ordered banks to close accounts linked to such digital assets. Despite the regulatory uncertainties, Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter Inc and founder of Square Inc has tipped the Sub-Saharan African country as the future of Bitcoin trading.
The people of Nigeria will lead bitcoin.
His belief in Africa as the future of crypto stems from his trip to the continent In 2019. After observing the economic situations of the continent, Dorsey predicted that Africa would be the heart of Bitcoin.
For now, Africa will define the future (especially the bitcoin one!). Not sure where yet, but I’ll be living here for 3-6 months in 2020. Grateful I was able to experience a small part.
Dorsey has also joined hands with Jay-Z to establish a Bitcoin Trust Fund worth 500 BTC for Africa and India.
Africa, the future of crypto
Last week, Ray Youssef, CEO of peer-to-peer lending platform Paxful disclosed that Nigeria is their biggest market to date. According to him, the country has 1.5 million users and has contributed $1.5 billion in trading volume.
The country’s exchange rate, inflation, and a large number of unbanked adults have largely contributed to the unprecedented crypto adoption. A Paxful representative also revealed that based on linear projections from 2020, they expect Kenya to pick up with a 120 percent growth in users and 140 percent growth in peer-to-peer trading volume. They also expect a 72 percent growth in users and an 84 percent growth in peer-to-peer trading volume in Ghana.
Youssef explained why he focuses on Africa.
Well, the reason is, I’ve been there, I’ve met the people, I’ve seen the problems that they have. It makes perfect sense once you’re there.
In 2020, Nigeria recorded $309 million in Bitcoin trading volume to more than triple the $98 million trading volume recorded by South Africa in that same year. South Africa has since 2020 been calling for stricter crypto regulation but is yet to make any drastic decision. Other countries keen on introducing crypto regulation is Kenya and Tanzania.
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