Cryptocurrencies are providing African citizens with a lifeline to escape the traditional financial system’s failures and transact more freely. As Chris Maurice, founder and CEO of Yellow Card – Africa’s largest cryptocurrency exchange – told Cointelegraph, crypto in Africa “is growing at the speed of light” because it allows many Africans to solve “real-world problems” such as hyperinflation and corruption.
Kevin Imani, the founder and CEO of Sankore 2.0 – an affiliate of layer-1 Near Protocol – believes that blockchain-based payments can also act as a human rights technology, providing people in underdeveloped nations with greater financial inclusion and control over their money.
Common use cases for crypto in Africa are to make international payments, send money to friends and family, and save money against inflation. Maurice adds that crypto in Africa is closer than any other part of the world to the original mission of the technology.
Statistics show that inflation rates in Sub-Saharan Africa reached an estimated 14.5% in 2022, the region’s largest annual change since the 2008 recession. Such a number explains why the ability to counter weak national currencies and corruption through peer-to-peer crypto transactions has become a no-brainer for many Africans.
Okoye Kevin Chibuoyim, the founder and CEO of crypto education platform GIDA based in Nigeria, sees crypto as Africa’s next shot at life, another opportunity to be part of something great. He believes that Africans are drawn to the blockchain’s transparent nature, which allows everyone to trust the system.
In April, Block – a U.S. digital payments firm led by Jack Dorsey – partnered with Yellow Card to facilitate cross-border payments in Africa based on Block’s infrastructure. The number of cryptocurrency users increased by 2,500% in 2021, followed by an 11-fold explosion in venture capital funding in 2022.
Nigerians have adopted cryptocurrency like no one else in the region, with one local publication reporting in May that 47% of Nigerians own or transact with crypto on a daily basis. Botswana has the most legal and regulatory clarity, though cryptocurrency has recently been declared illegal in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Gabon, Guyana, Lesotho, Libya, and Zimbabwe.