Telegram-based crypto communities in Africa grow by 183% between early 2023 and August 2024.
Looking ahead, a report by cryptocurrency exchange BitGate predicts that the African cryptocurrency market will reach 54 million users by 2025, with Nigeria and South Africa leading the way.
The report points out that “economic instability, limited access to banking services, and a high number of tech-savvy youth” are some of the reasons for its prominence in Africa.
Meanwhile, the growth of these Telegram communities in Western Europe has been extremely modest, growing only 11% during the study period, according to the study. The report puts this down to tighter regulations and a more mature market for financial services.
The population of many African countries is much smaller than that of most developed Western or East Asian nations, which can fuel crypto adoption.
The median age in Nigeria and Kenya is roughly 19 and 21, respectively, according to FBI statistics, compared to 39 in the United States and nearly 50 in Japan.
Many consumers in sub-Saharan Africa are drawn to cryptocurrency communities due to local economic stability, such as unstable tax regimes or low local wages.
The 28-year-old Kenyan activist told Decrypt in July that he thought engaging in crypto projects could be more profitable than traditional work in a country where the average income is $634.
These types of activities include farming airdrops, participating in token giveaways, creating content for meme coin trading, or using games to earn gameplay.
Prior knowledge of mobile money applications may also play a role in wider adoption. The opposition explained how most Kenyans use the mobile money app M-PESA for their transfers, which means that using the crypto app is not a big deal.
However, the rising popularity of cryptocurrency in some countries such as Nigeria has brought it to the attention of the government.
In the year In March 2024, the Nigerian government sought the arrest of several top executives at crypto exchanges such as Binance after they allegedly established the country's local currency, the naira, and facilitated financial crimes and money laundering.
Binance CEO Tigran Gambarian was detained in Nigeria for eight months, after being arrested in February and released last week due to health issues.
Edited by Stacy Elliott.
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