Number of African Crypto Users Climbs by 2,500%
According to a new report put forward by Kucoin, there has been a 2,500% increase in the number of crypto users in Africa between January 2021 and January 2022. As for the average number of transactions on a monthly basis, they have increased by nearly 1,400%. Crypto exchange Kucoin also noted that there were more small transfers or payments made in Africa now, as opposed to the same period last year. The crypto transactions that happen in the African continent contribute about 2.8% to the global crypto volumes, but the average amount per transaction has decreased.
The report from Kucoin elaborated that the growth in the use of crypto by people in Africa was likely because of the growing knack of the continent of embracing new technologies. The primary cities that are powering this digital adoption across the continent include names like Lagos, Cape Town and Cairo. The report also discloses that in the capital of Kenya, Nairobi, the crypto transactions appear to be 64% higher as compared to the rest of the continent. The report from Kucoinalso suggested that there was an increase in the number of crypto users in Africa because of factors like fluctuations in the exchange rate and inflation.
However, it also said that even in African countries where the inflation is on the low side, people who have knowledge still prefer to use cryptocurrencies for protecting their savings. There was another factor cited for contributing to the massive growth seen in the number of African crypto users. The continent also has an ongoing campaign focused on educating the people about emerging financial technologies. Independent advocates have also undertaken such educational campaigns. Crypto exchanges, such as Kucoin, have also become very active in these efforts of educating people about cryptocurrencies.
The report also explained how Kucoin is working on educating more people in the continent about blockchain and cryptocurrency. It revealed that the exchange had launched a university tour-type education promotion in early 2022 in Nigeria. Along with this, the exchange has also expanded its influence in the continent vigorously on the internet for helping people get more education and information, along with numerous benefits. Meanwhile, the report also states that almost 88.5% of the crypto transactions that are initiated by crypto users in Africa are actually cross-border transfers. It had already been speculated that people in countries like Africa would prefer to use crypto for cross-border payments because of the low cost.
As it is, cross-border transfers involving cryptocurrency have a low fee of about 0.01% of the total transaction amount. This makes it extremely convenient for the African people to use crypto when they want to move funds across borders. As a matter of fact, this has been touted as one of the biggest appeals of using cryptocurrencies all over the world, as transactions involving banks and other centralized institutions can prove to be quite costly. The cost is not something that people need to worry about with crypto and people in Africa have taken advantage of it.
