Countries in the continent africa is embracing the blockchain technology and Bitcoin in their masses. In some countries the government of the day are showing some kind of support or interest for the new technology while others are advising their citizens not to use the cryptocurrency due to fear of fraudulent activities. I have taken my time, done some research plus the little knowledge I already have, made this thread to highlight the three ways Bitcoin is been used in Africa. They include;
[1]:
Trading and investment:
Most citizens of countries in Africa like Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Kanye, South Africa etc have turned to Bitcoin as their recuse from poverty and others to increase their asset portfolio. According to the report carried out in August 2018, five (5) Africa countries where ranked among the Top 50 highest traders of Bitcoin on Localbitcoin exchange namely;
7. Nigeria – $258M
10. South Africa – $98M
23. Kenya – $25M
36. Morocco -- $6M
43. Tanzania -- $2M
SourceNote: This is just a statistics from one exchange, we have numerous exchange both locally and international that Africans are trading on and that's just one of the ways Bitcoin (cryptocurrency in general) is been used in Africa.
[2] Online shopping:
The number of cryptocurrency related online shops is raising daily mostly in South Africa and Nigeria. Africans can now buy goods online from the comfort of their home and pay with bitcoin. Physical store are also joining the party, In 2017 one of South Africans biggest grocery stores called Pick n Pay showed interest in accepting Bitcoin as a means of payment we also have numerous merchant already accepting Bitcoin and few of them can be found here,
Merchants Accepting bitcoins for Payment in Africa[3]: Online transaction (money transfer):Any one familiar with Africans knows we're migraters, there isn't any part of the world you'll go that you won't find Africans in their number, majority of the times it's the hustle that take them there. Many Africans leave their country for search of greener pastures in Western countries and when they succeed they always struggled to send money back to their families but with the help of Bitcoin everything has changed as sending money is now made easier, cheaper, faster and more secured. The luno wallet/exchange is one of the many platforms used for that purpose as it make it easier to convert Bitcoin to local currency.
If you're a blockchain developer and you were looking for the next regional area to get potential customer for whatever service you're providing I suggest you join the few companies tapping the potential found in Africa.
Here are some useful article you can read to convince you more;
Why Africa Is Fertile Ground for Bitcoin AdoptionTop 5 African Countries That Are Embracing BitcoinStatistics show that 40% of the world's population do not have bank accounts and are therefore barred from all financial services
Most of these are from the continent of Africa and some countries of Latin America and Asia
So I think
CRYPTO will have a great future in Africa but the
idea has to be publishedThis is a big challenge.
