Nigeria’s volume of cryptocurrency transactions grew 9% year-over-year to $56.7 billion between July 2022 and June 2023, New York-based blockchain research firm Chainalysis said in a report.
The report indicated that cryptocurrency usage is growing in Nigeria.
In Uganda, crypto use is smaller but growing fast, rising 245% to $1.6 billion in the same period, while its use in Kenya fell more than a half to $8.4 billion, the report was quoted by Reuters.
Chainalysis noted that interest in bitcoin and stablecoins – crypto tokens whose monetary value is pegged to a stable asset to protect from wild volatility – increased when the naira’s value plunged, particularly during the most extreme drops in June and July of 2023.
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“People are constantly looking for opportunities to hedge against the devaluation of the naira and the persistent economic decline since COVID,” Moyo Sodipo, co-founder of Nigeria-based cryptocurrency exchange Busha, said in a statement shared with the report.