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Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation, dropped below $18,000 per digital coin from its record high of $68,000 in November last year.
After witnessing a free fall for weeks, Bitcoin finally rebounded past $20,000 per digital coin on Monday, around a 16% gain over the weekend, as reported by Business Insider India. The global market cap of cryptocurrencies sank below $850 billion, which recently hovered over $1 trillion.
Despite the market trend, Bitcoin and cryptocurrency adoption has grown by over 880% in the past year. At that rate, Bitcoin and other cryptos are indeed gaining increased attention due to the fact that they are used as an investment tool in lieu of other good options. In many parts of Africa, crypto holders have been at the forefront of adopting innovative P2P payment methods as a means of leapfrogging options like bank transfers and those digital payment options.
This brings up an obvious question. Which African country has the most crypto holders and users? According to Triple A, here are the top 5 African countries with the most cryptocurrency holders.
Top 5 African countries with the most cryptocurrency holders
1. Nigeria – 13 million
According to Triple-A, Nigeria has more cryptocurrency holders than any other African country. Yes, in Nigeria, more than 10 million people own cryptocurrency despite the ban by the country’s apex bank. Nigeria is also the #1 country worldwide in terms of the number of people searching for “Bitcoin” and “Crypto” keywords on Google.
2. Kenya – 4.5million
Second on the list is Kenya, with an estimated 4.5 million people owning cryptocurrency. Kenya leads the way in terms of holdings and blockchain-related transactions and ranks among the top African countries for trading volume on peer-to-peer platforms. Kenya also ranks within the top ten worldwide on the topic of “cryptocurrency” on Google.
3. South Africa – 4.2million
South Africa ranks third on the list, with over 4.2 million people owning cryptocurrency. According to Triple A, 17% of South Africans shared that they used or owned at least one form of cryptocurrency as it’s highly preferred to banks, largely because of higher yields. In addition, the demographics of crypto holders in the country are skewed towards male and younger generations. Men account for 60% of crypto investors, with 42% of crypto investors being aged 18 to 30.
4. Egypt – 1.7million
The demand for bitcoin in Egypt has surged as over 1.7 million Egyptians have distributed more than half of their wealth into assets like Bitcoin and other crypto-assets. One of the main reasons behind this high adoption rate is that Egyptian crypto traders are looking for additional sources of income (either through) trading or holding bitcoin. As the country’s fiat currency faces devaluation, the number of Egyptian crypto users is expected to rise as investors search for higher-profit currencies.
5. Ethiopia – 1.1million
Despite having over 1.1million crypto holders in the country, Ethiopia recently made headlines for its crackdowns on cryptocurrency trading. Early this month, the Ethiopian central bank released a statement calling Bitcoin “illegal,” prohibiting the use of any other currency except the Birr for all transactions. It has adopted this stance because it believes that virtual currency is used to conduct informal financial activities and money-laundering in the country.
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