Topic: Cryptocurrency adoption in Africa (Read 276 times)

The adoption of cryptocurrency is growing worldwide and Africa sticks out as the continent is showing lots of interest in it. Crisis is looming in many economies and cryptocurrency offers an alternative for individuals looking to hedge their funds, or an investment venture.

Over the years, I had highlighted lack of accessibility and negative sentiments as the two main barriers to the growth of cryptocurrency in Africa, however it seems that these hurdles are slowly being crossed;
Accessibility: Cryptocurrency is a digital currency and as such it needs to be operated through a digital device. Internet penetration in Africa is growing and with it is the usage and adoption of digital currencies
.

An estimated 420 million people own a mobile device in Africa, with a population of ~1.2 billion, this means about 35% of the entire population have access to mobile devices, smartphone usage is also spreading, as an estimated 60% of the continent has access to 3G network, and 4G usage is equally growing. All this metrics point to a potential rise in cryptocurrency adoption as is evident in recent statistics;
With a teeming youthful population, 60% of the continent below 25, gradual growth in digitalization and developing economies, Africa has a plenty of potential to become a major driver of cryptocurrency adoption.
It's however still limited by negative sentiments. Citizens and governments are reluctant to embrace cryptocurrencies, the former a result of the latter. Centralized organizations like the gov't and banks touts cryptocurrenciea tout Bitcoin to be high risk and vulnerable, and with so many uncertainties in the continent, the people are not willing to add their funds to the list. This however is expected to change as quick access to information grows and more open discussions about blockchain and digital assets are had. Big industries like binance are also utilizing the potential in Africa and this would have a positive effect on adoption.

I remembered an ICO before regarding with the efficiency that they will do for entire Africa by putting up large cables to give fast internet throughout the continent. I just don't know if it was successfully launched or not.  

One of the main problems can be in lack of number of PCs in Africa. Yes, crypto available on android phones, but a lot of important features available on PC only

Yes, there could be one problem, that is the support infrastructure coming from the government. But we all know that a simple cellphone can make a lot of difference. They can transact, trade and over buy crypto which is a good start for that continent. So probably in the next 2-5 years, we're going to see a big growth in terms of numbers of traders and crypto enthusiast.

So like every other continent, there are good and bad areas.

The objective of this thread was not to draw light on the problems of the continent but rather to highlight the rate of growth of cryptocurrency within the continent, this is evident in the link I included in the OP.

The World Bank and African Development Bank report there are 650 million mobile users in Africa, surpassing the number in the United States or Europe. In some African countries more people have access to a mobile phone than to clean water, a bank account or electricity, the agencies add.

I am not saying this is all parts of Africa of course, there are very advance and awesome places there as well.

Why are we shocked that Africa has harder time to adopt these things compared to rest of the world.

Africa as a continent has long been talked about as one of the markets that has tremendous potential in terms of various market expansions, and one of them is certainly cryptocurrency. Certainly one of the biggest drawbacks is that the internet is still inaccessible to almost 50% of the population, which definitely puts them at a disadvantage with the rest of the world....

One of the main problems can be in lack of number of PCs in Africa. Yes, crypto available on android phones, but a lot of important features available on PC only

If the world's attitude towards Africa changed, then positive changes would come quickly - but some will try to delay it as much as possible.

Africa as a continent has long been talked about as one of the markets that has tremendous potential in terms of various market expansions, and one of them is certainly cryptocurrency. Certainly one of the biggest drawbacks is that the internet is still inaccessible to almost 50% of the population, which definitely puts them at a disadvantage with the rest of the world.

This is the biggest advantage of Africa, after all - while Europe and a good part of the world have a growing percentage of the elderly population, the situation there is completely reversed. However, Africa is known for very cruel political regimes and a very high rate of bribery and corruption, which is a major obstacle to the development of societies there. Some actually want it to stay that way, because it is much easier to rule people who are uneducated, and completely dependent on their governments, whatever they may be.

Yet much of the responsibility for Africa as it stands today lies with many countries around the world, from colonial times and the slave trade, to today's perception of Africa as a landfill for hazardous waste or a testing ground for the pharmaceutical industry. If the world's attitude towards Africa changed, then positive changes would come quickly - but some will try to delay it as much as possible.

I recently saw a video about mobile solar kiosks for charging mobile phones which is also a internet hot spot, a great project that is spreading to many African countries. In addition to providing much-needed services to the population, it also enables job creation and helps reduce poverty rates.

The adoption of cryptocurrency is growing worldwide and Africa sticks out as the continent is showing lots of interest in it. Crisis is looming in many economies and cryptocurrency offers an alternative for individuals looking to hedge their funds, or an investment venture.

With a teeming youthful population, 60% of the continent below 25, gradual growth in digitalization and developing economies, Africa has a plenty of potential to become a major driver of cryptocurrency adoption.

~snip~
The adoption of cryptocurrency is growing worldwide and Africa sticks out as the continent is showing lots of interest in it.

That being said, for this "adoption" thing, I don't really see any concrete data to see whether using PC or phone affect the chances of user adopting cryptocurrency in their life.

Africa has a lot of potential and I think many people see it, in many countries in Africa most are using cashless transaction to transfer the money because there is still a considerable crime rate there, with that idea in mind.

One of the main problems can be in lack of number of PCs in Africa. Yes, crypto available on android phones, but a lot of important features available on PC only

That being said, for this "adoption" thing, I don't really see any concrete data to see whether using PC or phone affect the chances of user adopting cryptocurrency in their life.

One of the main problems can be in lack of number of PCs in Africa. Yes, crypto available on android phones, but a lot of important features available on PC only

Yes, crypto available on android phones, but a lot of important features available on PC only

The adoption of cryptocurrency is growing worldwide and Africa sticks out as the continent is showing lots of interest in it. Crisis is looming in many economies and cryptocurrency offers an alternative for individuals looking to hedge their funds, or an investment venture.

Over the years, I had highlighted lack of accessibility and negative sentiments as the two main barriers to the growth of cryptocurrency in Africa, however it seems that these hurdles are slowly being crossed;
Accessibility: Cryptocurrency is a digital currency and as such it needs to be operated through a digital device. Internet penetration in Africa is growing and with it is the usage and adoption of digital currencies

With a teeming youthful population, 60% of the continent below 25, gradual growth in digitalization and developing economies, Africa has a plenty of potential to become a major driver of cryptocurrency adoption.
It's however still limited by negative sentiments. Citizens and governments are reluctant to embrace cryptocurrencies, the former a result of the latter. Centralized organizations like the gov't and banks touts cryptocurrenciea tout Bitcoin to be high risk and vulnerable, and with so many uncertainties in the continent, the people are not willing to add their funds to the list. This however is expected to change as quick access to information grows and more open discussions about blockchain and digital assets are had. Big industries like binance are also utilizing the potential in Africa and this would have a positive effect on adoption.

420 billion people