The cryptocurrency market is one of the most exciting places to invest. This is primarily attributed to the success of bitcoin and the growing popularity of blockchain technology. Crypto has penetrated nearly every corner of the world that you can think of, and this is good for long-term growth. bitcoin, in particular, has skyrocketed to surpass the $1 trillion market valuation after hitting a price of $58,480 before pulling back to just above $51,000.

However, from a numbers perspective, there are still several people that have not invested in the industry in any capacity. In fact, while it would be a good call to say every country is represented, there are more people that have not invested a single cent than there are those who invested at some point.

Africa’s crypto boom

Regionally, Africa is one of the fastest-growing economies. The continent has in recent years demonstrated its flexibility in adapting to new market trends. And now, analysts see it as a major driving force for the next growth phase of the cryptocurrency industry.

Africa is now host to hundreds of cryptocurrency projects some of which are significantly funded by local governments. Some of the projects have already graduated from their pre-launch states to fully tradable assets across several crypto exchange platforms. Kenya’s Bitpesa is one of the leading cryptocurrency platforms in Africa and last year launched a peer-to-peer platform that will boost expansion in other segments of the financial industry.

The next step will be to add them to popular CFD trading platforms for intra-day trading, which will continue to boost their popularity. Bitcoin has gained more traction after listing on some of the leading forex brokerage platforms as a CFD. The forex market is the world’s largest in terms of turnover with more than $5.3 trillion worth of daily transactions and this increases the addressable market for top cryptocurrencies.

Africa has been a critical player in the growth of the forex market over the last two decades with the growth of online trading via mobile phones. Now, with crypto just gaining traction in the continent, this could spark the next growth phase of the market.

Africa is suited for crypto adoption

Bitcoin is largely responsible for this penetration. But technological advances and mobile usage growth have also played a crucial part. According to a report published on Un.org, there are more than 750 million mobile phone subscribers in Africa. All these present an opportunity for cryptocurrency market investors to capitalize on. 

With many trading platforms that allow users to trade bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies already available on mobile phones, this increases accessibility and experts see it as huge catalysts for industry growth in the continent. 

The fact that a majority of the African population is still unbanked also opens more avenues for blockchain platforms to stretch their addressable market. Reports from June last year showed that Subsaharan Africa is now the second-largest region in P2P bitcoin trades behind North America. Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa lead the top countries from the continent. 

The rate at which crypto adoption in Africa has outpaced several other regions is what has made it analysts’ pick as a major growth driver. Based on Statista data for 2020, Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa are among the top 10 countries in the world in terms of bitcoin trading volume. However, they are still several levels below the market leader, the US.

With the price of bitcoin skyrocketing to new historical highs, this could have a significant impact on how the growth map will be in the next couple of years. Most people in the developed world may now begin to believe in crypto as a form of investment thereby boosting trading volume. Developed countries also have more money, which means investment in crypto could gather pace.

Conclusion

Whether the emerging markets and developing countries have the money to match the accelerated adoption is another thing. Africa has the appetite for crypto while the money is with the developed world. It will be interesting to watch how the industry shapes up in the coming years.