By any measure, crypto is booming across the African continent.
Joseph Hall at Cointelegraph reports today that usage in Africa has gone up by some 2500%.
Detailing various types of financial problems and distrust of fiat, Hall quotes someone identified as Nourou, in explaining how Africans are using cryptocurrency, and why this type of activity is, in some ways, following precedent:
“Take a look at the way in which cars, mobile phones and consumer electronics took off on the continent,” Nourou said. “Africa is a continent where lightning-fast progression and adoption is common.”
Regarding the Africa crypto study by KuCoin that Hall is referring to, it’s interesting to note that nearly 90% of these transactions are cross-border money moves.
One winner in this scenario is Binance, the largest cryptocurrency platform in the world. Its activities have been curtailed in the United States, but in Africa, Binance remains a common way to move cryptocurrency.
And there’s more to come.
“A huge part of Binance Africa’s 2021 goals is to spread crypto education and adoption across Africa,” writes a Binance spokesperson Jan. 20. “This journey started in 2020 where we successfully educated over 70,000 Africans about crypto fundamentals, practical tutorials on how to set up an account – and buy & sell crypto, technical analysis and crypto trading. We are kicking (sic) this year with a Masterclass that aims to equip up to 1000 African blockchain developers with the right tools and skills to build their first DApps on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) network. All within the first quarter of 2021.”
As for Nourou, this character’s history is portrayed in more detail in a syndicated piece called “One man’s journey to orange-pill a nation.”
“Following an eight-year stint in France, during which Nourou earned his Masters degree, Bitcoin Chaincode qualifications, and a deep understanding of legacy financial markets thanks to work in investment finance, he was primed to orange-pill Senegal,” writes an anonymous author. “He returned to his home country disheartened to learn that Coinmap (a website showing Bitcoin vendors and merchants around the world), had zero locations in Senegal. That’s despite singer and influencer Akon’s plans to set up a crypto-style Akon City…. Passionate about Bitcoin … the 29-year-old was inspired to try a similar thing in his hometown.”
The rest, as they say, is history.
So with your crypto plays, don’t forget about the African market, and how parties like Binance will be doing there.
