Keep it simple

Bitcoin, akoin and ubuntu…Africa’s growing love of cryptocurrencies

By Kévin Poireault

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Posted on May 13, 2021 07:24

Firefox_Screenshot_2021-05-12T15-48-36.867Z © Cryptocurrencies are a great financial alternative that is just a click away. Temilade Adelaja/REUTERS
Cryptocurrencies are a great financial alternative that is just a click away. Temilade Adelaja/REUTERS

Bitcoin, akoin and ubuntu’s success on the continent can be attributed to the low level of banking involved, the opportunity to save money and speculate as well as the possibility of carrying out cheaper international transactions.

Bitcoin has been enjoying real success so far in 2021. Tesla and BlackRock have both invested in this crypto-currency. Visa, Mastercard and PayPal are slowly starting to integrate it into their payment methods and some of the world’s largest banks – such as Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan and BNY Mellon, which were previously on the fence about it – are seriously considering adopting it.

These encouraging signs have contributed to the rise in popularity of the first cryptocurrency, which reached a record value of more than $63,000 in April. This has also helped increase the popularity of other cryptocurrencies, including akoin and ubuntu.

READ MORE Standard Chartered’s Bola Adesola: ‘No other bank is as invested in Africa as we are’

This momentum has not escaped Africa’s notice. According to the US firm Chainalysis, monthly transfers of less than $10,000 in cryptocurrencies to and from the continent jumped by 55% between June 2019 and June 2020, to $316m.

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