TECHDIGEST – The volume of bitcoin traded by Nigerians in August rose to $44.4m from a previous high of $38.5m in May. This brought the total trading volume of BTC from January to August in the nation to $284m.

This is according to data from Usefultulips.org. Usefultulips combines data from two major peer-to-peer exchanges in the country, LocalBitcoins and Paxful. Actual trading volume for the nation is estimated to be higher.

In January, BTC trading volume was $31.9m. In February, it was $31.9m; in March, it was $33.6m. By April, BTC trading volume was $33.1m, and $38.5m in May. In June, it was $34.7m, and $35.9m in July.

In April 2021, Paxful said it had 1.5 million users. A recent report by Chainalysis said that the cryptocurrency market in Nigeria and other African countries has grown by 1200 per cent in the last one year.

The report added that Africa received $105.6bn worth of cryptocurrency between July 2020 and June 2021.

It said that P2P platforms were more prominent in Africa than other regions, and many African cryptocurrency users also rely on P2P platforms for remittances and commercial transactions.

The report said, “P2P platforms are especially popular in Africa compared to other regions, and many African cryptocurrency users rely on P2P platforms not just as an on-ramp into cryptocurrency, but also for remittances and even commercial transactions.

“Cross-region transfers also make up a bigger share of Africa’s cryptocurrency market than any other region at 96 per cent of all transaction volume, versus 78 per cent for all regions combined.”

The report said that in Nigeria, the difficulty for customers to send money to cryptocurrency businesses from their bank accounts because of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s ban has contributed to the increase in P2P transactions.

The report added that no region uses P2P platforms at a higher rate than African cryptocurrency users, as they account for 1.2 per cent of all African transaction volume and 2.6 per cent of all volume for Bitcoin specifically.

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TECHDIGEST – The adoption of crypto currency in Africa surged to a whopping 1200% this past year according to a report by Chainalysis. This makes Africa, the third fastest-growing crypto economy in the world.

The report revealed that Africa had recorded 1,200% growth since June last year, with the need for cheaper remittances, the rise of peer-to-peer trading, and savings needs leading the growth.
In the one year from July 2020 to June 2021, Africa received $105.6 billion worth of digital currencies. Chainalysis further disclosed that Africa also has the most dynamic market, with five countries from the region ranking in the top 20 of the Global Crypto Adoption Index. The countries are Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, and Tanzania.

One of the aspects of the African crypto currency market that set it apart is the prevalence of retail holders and traders. Chainalysis reports that the region has a 7% share of the market being retail and small-sized payments, higher than the global average at 5.5%.

For Africa, peer-to-peer platforms are a lifeline for the Bitcoin market. The New York-based block chain analytics company revealed that no other region uses P2P platforms more. Kenya has ranked for the past two years as the world leader in P2P volume.

This growth has been spurred by several factors, including an aversion by financial institutions in countries like Kenya and Nigeria against crypto currency platforms.

“In many of these frontier markets, people can’t send money from their bank accounts to a centralized exchange, so they rely on P2P,” Artur Schaback, the COO and co-founder of the popular Paxful P2P platform, told Chainalysis.

The P2P market is expanding even beyond the traditional platforms and into messaging platforms such as WhatsApp and Telegram.

Adedeji Owonibi, the founder of Nigerian block chain consultancy firm Convexity, explained, “In many of these frontier markets, people can’t send money from their bank accounts to a centralized exchange, so they rely on P2P.”

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