Cryptocurrencies

Cryptocurrencies

They are young, entrepreneurial, looking for cheap cross-border transaction solutions and an exit from failing fiat currencies, and they are increasingly pivoting to cryptocurrencies.

Technologically savvy smartphone generation who have grown up in the digital age, many are economically active in the global digital village voted their preference of what future money will be, and it increasingly looks like cryptocurrencies.

Cryptocurrencies are unaffected by geopolitics, as they are neutral in a cold war or shooting war

Moreover, many cryptocurrencies have a predetermined fixed supply, managed by an algorithm which manages monetary discipline. So its value is not debased by the whims of central bank printing. Moreover, cryptocurrencies have utility as they facilitating Web 3.0, smart contracts on the blockchain network. So the better the security the blockchain network is against hackers, the more high-value business will be conducted on the network. Moreover, developers will be more willing to pay higher gas fees in exchange for optimum security

For example, The European Investment Bank sold 100 million euros of bonds last year using the blockchain and saved a small fortune in an intermediary, dealer bank commissions.

It is no coincidence that the EIB smart contract developers used a Blockchain network with a Proof of Work consensus mechanism, which is currently the most secure network available.

So cryptocurrencies with imputed value and utility are likely to outperform Secure blockchain networks, which facilitate high-value business where we believe the value lies for investors.

But there are so many facades to cryptocurrencies, with the technological aspect being one and the need for sound money with a cheap cross-border payment system being the other

KuCoin data shows a 1,386.7% increase in monthly transactions across African countries from January 2021 – to January 2022. During the same period, active users also increased by 2,467.2%.

The fastest cryptocurrency adoption is in Africa. Nigeria, is the most populous country in Africa, with over one in three people invested in cryptocurrencies, with Bitcoin being the most popular.

Despite the effort by the Central Bank of Nigeria, which barred banks from enabling crypto transactions in February 2021, 65% of investors utilize peer-to-peer trading to deposit fiat for cryptocurrencies.

Why has Africa, particularly Nigeria, increasingly adopted cryptocurrencies?

With 35% of the adult population aged 18-60, Nigeria is the sixth-largest population in the world with cell phone users of 167 million people. 

Nigeria is young and smartphone savvy, so the investor class is a youthful population.

Central bank failure to maintain a stable currency is another factor why cryptocurrencies are booming in Africa and Nigeria.

Over the last eight years, the Nigerian Naira depreciated by over 60% against the dollar. 

The potential of the African continent to adopt cryptocurrencies is in its early phase

Here are other surprising statistics from a report entitled “Into The Cryptoverse”. Only 51% of the entire population of Nigeria has access to the internet, according to the report. 

Bitcoin is the African most popular cryptocurrency but Afrostar with its African focus could be worth keeping on your radar.