Tag: Crypto Adoption

Nigeria’s Foreign Investment and Crypto Adoption Dilemma

by Blockchain News

Nigeria, the largest economy in Africa, has been facing a severe shortage of dollars, leading to a decline in foreign direct investment (FDI). The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that FDI dropped by 33% in 2021, decreasing from $698 million in the previous year to $468 million. The situation is worrying as FDI has decreased by 90% since its peak in 2008, reaching a new low in 2021. The scarcity of foreign investment in the country has led to a significant setback for the growth of the economy.

Despite the decline in FDI, the adoption of cryptocurrencies in Nigeria has grown exponentially. Many Nigerians prefer to store their money in digital currencies rather than the national currency, the naira, due to its constant devaluation. In fact, Nigeria ranked eighth in the world in terms of crypto adoption and usage rate in Chainalysis’ 2020 Cryptocurrency Geography Report. This exponential growth in crypto adoption rate in Nigeria was expected to encourage more foreign investment in the country. However, the shortage of dollars has discouraged foreign crypto companies from investing in Nigeria.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) banned cryptocurrency transactions in February 2021, directing all commercial banks to close accounts belonging to crypto exchanges and other businesses that deal with cryptocurrencies. The ban has further discouraged foreign investors from entering the market.

Despite the challenges, Olumide Adesina, a certified investment trader, tweeted that no state in Nigeria has taken the initiative to attract foreign investors in the fintech, entertainment, and crypto industries, despite the fact that Nigerians “love” these sectors. In another tweet, Adesina highlighted that building a real tech and crypto community like Silicon Valley in Lagos state would create thousands of direct jobs.

In response, Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, announced proposals for crypto adoption in the state, according to local media reports. The initiatives proposed by Sanwo-Olu include establishing a dedicated sandbox regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies, creating a crypto-focused innovation hub, and providing incentives for businesses that accept crypto payments. These initiatives are expected to encourage foreign investors to enter the Nigerian market and to boost the growth of the economy.

In conclusion, Nigeria’s dilemma is that while the adoption of cryptocurrencies has grown exponentially, the country is facing a severe shortage of foreign direct investment. The shortage of dollars has discouraged foreign investors, including crypto companies, from investing in the country. Therefore, it is essential for the government to take the necessary measures to attract foreign investors, particularly in the fintech, entertainment, and crypto industries. By doing so, Nigeria will not only stimulate its economy but will also establish itself as a hub for innovation and technology in Africa.

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Nigerian Crypto Community Affected by Paxful Shutdown

by Blockchain News

The worldwide user community of Paxful, which was a prominent peer-to-peer bitcoin marketplace, has been left looking for alternatives after the platform’s collapse. However, it has a big effect on the crypto community in Nigeria, where the platform has a huge influence on the acceptance and use of cryptocurrencies. This has led to a considerable impact.

According to the blog written by Paxful’s founder and CEO Ray Youssef, the company made the announcement on April 4 that it will be ceasing its activities because of “key staff departures” and the regulatory climate. A great number of Nigerians who conduct their financial dealings using the platform’s services are now feeling uneasy as a result of this statement.

According to Chainalysis’s “The 2020 Geography of Cryptocurrency Report,” out of the 154 nations that were analyzed for the report, Nigeria placed ninth in terms of the acceptance and use of cryptocurrencies. This highlights the importance of the cryptocurrency business to the nation. The innovative application of peer-to-peer technology in Nigeria that was pioneered by Paxful has contributed to the growth of the business, which has resulted in more Nigerians having access to cryptocurrencies.

A data analyst by the name of Obinna Uzoije, a member of the Paxful Nigerian community, recently told his story of utilizing the platform while he was just starting out in his professional life. Paxful was the platform that he used in order to convert the dollars that he had been given by his employers as payment into naira. Skrill, an online payment network, was used in order to transfer money to independent contractors working in Nigeria for multinational corporations. Because some Paxful users accepted the money, it became much simpler for independent contractors to trade them in for Bitcoin or hard currency. Many crypto aficionados in Nigeria are now left wondering what the future holds for cryptocurrency markets as a result of the closure of Paxful, which occurred recently.

Over-the-counter (OTC) vendor Akeem Abdullahi said that Paxful’s escrow service has given rise to a new generation of OTC vendors. Gift cards might be purchased from people who intended to sell them but lacked the computer literacy required to utilize the platform by the merchants. Many Nigerians gained a greater feeling of financial autonomy and an entrepreneurial spirit as a direct result of this development.

On Twitter, several members of the Nigerian cryptocurrency community voiced their fears regarding the possibility of individuals regaining access to the monies that they had lost. However, Youssef has reassured users in a tweet that the Paxful team is working on clearing users’ send-outs, which indicates that users’ cash would be secure. This information was shared by Youssef.

In conclusion, the termination of Paxful has had a substantial negative effect on the cryptocurrency community in Nigeria, where the platform played an essential part in the development of the cryptocurrency business. Given the unpredictability of the future of cryptocurrency markets, many people in Nigeria are forced to look for alternatives to Paxful while simultaneously fretting about the safety of their assets.

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Seychelles Crypto Exchange OKX to Expand Services to Australia

by Blockchain News

In a statement released on March 29, OKX announced its intention to expand its crypto services to Australia, citing the country’s strong adoption of cryptocurrency. The exchange, which provides services to over 100 countries, has already expanded its operations into Malta in August 2018 and secured a provisional license in Dubai in July 2020.

OKX sees Australia as an indispensable part of its growth strategy and a key growth market, stating that it aims to build a strong local office. The exchange’s move into the Australian market is fueled by the high demand for cryptocurrency among Australian retail investors.

According to Jay Hao, CEO of OKX, Australian retail investors have shown a massive appetite for exploring crypto as an investment vehicle and for trading. He noted that since he came to OKX, the web traffic from Australia and the number of people trying to explore OKX services from Australia has been significant.

The exchange’s Head of Global Operations, Grant Rafique, believes that Australians are ahead of the curve in terms of crypto education, which he hopes will make OKX’s move into the market even smoother.

Australia’s cryptocurrency industry has been growing steadily, with an increasing number of Australians investing in digital assets. A report by the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance revealed that Australia’s cryptocurrency sector grew by 20% in 2020, with the number of active crypto users doubling in the last 12 months.

The expansion into the Australian market is part of OKX’s broader strategy to become a global leader in the crypto industry. By expanding its services to more countries, the exchange hopes to provide more people with access to digital assets and facilitate the adoption of cryptocurrency worldwide.

Overall, OKX’s move to expand its services to Australia is a significant development in the country’s crypto industry, as it is likely to bring more competition and further increase the adoption of digital assets among Australians.

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Bahrain-Based Crypto Platform to Enable Real Estate Acquisition Using Crypto

by Blockchain News

CoinMena, a Bahrain-based crypto asset service provider, has teamed up with Carlton Real Estate to facilitate real estate purchases using cryptocurrencies. 

Ali Adnan Mahmood, Carlton Real Estate’s deputy managing director, pointed out:

“We are proud to be the first real estate brokerage company in the kingdom to accept crypto asset transactions for property purchases and other real estate services through our partnership with CoinMena – the crypto asset service provider licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain.” 

By incorporating crypto into its payment options, Carlton Real Estate believes this will propel its management, financing, and brokerage objectives. CoinMena enables institutional and retail investors to easily access digital asset investments directly from their bank accounts for frictionless and quick money transfers.

In a joint statement, CoinMena founders Dina Sam’an and Talal Tabbaa stated:

“As adoption continues to grow in the region, we see significant opportunities to use cryptocurrencies to purchase real-world assets. Crucially, this Carlton partnership also signals to the market that cryptocurrencies are maturing and gaining mainstream acceptance as a viable medium of exchange, they said in a joint statement.”

They added that Bahrain has been scrutinizing the crypto/blockchain space based on the adoption of various regulations.

For instance, the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) undertook a crypto payment trial with Onyx, JPMorgan’s cryptocurrency and blockchain unit. 

Furthermore, Binance received a Category 4 license as a crypto asset service provider (CASP) from the CBB. This license was to permit Binance Bahrain to offer a full range of crypto trading services to consumers under the supervision of the Bahrain regulators, Blockchain.News reported. 

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Blockchain.com Accepts Visa Debit Cards for Crypto Payment

by Blockchain News

Blockchain.com has accepted Visa debit cards payment to enable users to spend from their crypto balances free of charge, with the opportunity to gain cryptocurrency rewards.

Per the announcement:

“Initially available to US residents, users can spend their crypto or cash within their Blockchain.com Wallet without fees and earn 1% back in crypto anywhere Visa debit cards are accepted.”

Blockchain.com Visa Card seeks to make crypto usage easier, given that it leverages Marqeta’s latest card issuing platform and Visa’s payments network. 

Peter Smith, the co-founder and CEO of Blockchain.com, pointed out:

“As one of the crypto industry’s oldest and most trusted platforms, we’re excited to roll out the natural next step to make crypto easy to use in the real world and accessible to as many people as possible.” 

He added that the Blockchain.com Visa Card would play an instrumental role in shaping the future of mainstream finance. 

Based on Marqeta’s notable Just-in-Time Funding feature, Blockchain.com users will have the chance to seamlessly transact in fiat from their available crypto balances. 

This will be made possible because each Blockchain.com Visa card will be linked to an approved Blockchain.com Wallet account.

Simon Khalaf, Marqeta’s chief product officer, stated:

“Blockchain.com has built up a massive user base, and we’re proud that our platform can make it possible for their customers to spend against their cryptocurrency wallet at the point of sale, using the magic of Just-in-Time funding.” 

With Marqeta’s 2022 State of Money Movement survey disclosing that 38% of US consumers are crypto owners, it highlighted the surging need for crypto usage in daily scenarios.

Cuy Sheffield, the head of crypto at Visa, noted:

“At Visa, we believe for crypto adoption to grow, it’s critical for it to be easily accepted everywhere. We’re excited to partner with leading crypto wallets and exchanges like Blockchain.com to unlock more ways consumers can use their crypto for everyday purchases.”

Meanwhile, Mastercard recently inked a deal with BitOasis to establish a series of crypto card programs aimed at boosting daily cryptocurrency usage in the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region, Blockchain.News reported. 

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Nigeria Tops in Global Crypto Ownership, With Nearly Half of the Population Being Crypto Users or Owners

by Blockchain News

With cryptocurrencies being one of the technological innovations taking the world by storm, Nigeria takes the lead in terms of crypto ownership, according to Statista Global Consumer Survey. 

Per the report:

“Nigeria leads in global crypto ownership, where 45% of the population, or almost every second person, uses or owns cryptocurrency.”

The survey interviewed consumers from nations in South America, Asia, and Africa. The study added:

“Thailand ranked in second place, with 44% of the population that used or owned cryptos in the last two years. Turkey follows with 40%, and Argentina and United Arab Emirates round the top five list, with 35% and 34%, respectively.”

Even though the crypto owners in the United States are three times more than those in Nigeria, this represents 16% of the entire population. As a result, the US comes twenty-fifth in terms of crypto ownership.

On the other hand, India has 134 million crypto users, which is the highest globally. Statista recently estimated that there were 257.2 million crypto users globally, denoting 3.2% of the world’s population. This figure is expected to jump to 293.6 million in 2023.

Nigeria has been gaining the spotlight in crypto due to the trends being witnessed.

For instance, a study by Jack Dorsey-owned Block, Inc. revealed that the nation took the helm regarding Bitcoin optimism levels at 60%, Blockchain.News reported. 

Furthermore, a KuCoin study showed that high inflation rates and the lack of affordable financial services drove crypto adoption on Nigerian soil. 

The KuCoin survey suggested cryptocurrencies were filling the gap in the traditional currency-based market because Nigerians were using them as an alternative for storing and transferring assets.

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MENA Region Emerges as The Fastest Growing Crypto Market: Chainalysis Report

by Blockchain News

US blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis released its latest report Wednesday, indicating that the region of the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) enjoys the fastest growing tendency in terms of cryptocurrency adoption despite it is viewed as one of the smaller crypto markets in the global adoption index.

According to the report, users in the MENA region obtained $566 billion in cryptocurrency from July 2021 to June 2022 – an increase of 48% from what they received the year before.

The report further identified MENA as the home to three of the top thirty countries in this year’s index: Turkey (12), Egypt (14), and Morocco (24). The research identified the key drivers of such adoption in these nations include savings preservation, remittance payments, and increasingly permissive crypto regulations.

In Turkey and Egypt, rapid fiat currency devaluations have strengthened the appeal of cryptocurrency for savings preservation among users. As of August, Turkish inflation hit 80.5%, while the Egyptian Pound weakened by 13.5%.

Between July 2021 and June 2022, the report showed that the crypto transaction volume in Egypt tripled compared to the previous year. Turkey remains the largest crypto market in the region, with its users receiving $192 billion during the same period, per the document.

The report further identified that Morocco’s inflation rates have reached a more manageable level of 5.3%. However, the North African country’s significant levels of crypto adoption appear to be tied to the government’s newly permissive crypto stance. In 2017, the central bank of Morocco declared penalties and fines for users found transacting cryptocurrencies within the country. But earlier this year, the central bank formed a partnership deal with the IMF and the World Bank to create crypto regulations that emphasize innovation and consumer protection.

The report further acknowledged that while the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) – Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman – rarely make it to the top of the crypto adoption index, their role in the crypto ecosystem can never be underestimated.

The Chainalysis report identified Saudi Arabia as the third-largest crypto market in all of MENA, and UAE is the fifth. These Arab states have deep ties to the global crypto markets. For instance, Dubai has become a hub for crypto firms that serve customers all across Asia and Africa, not just in the Middle East.

According to the report, Afghanistan, one of the former MENA leaders in grassroots crypto adoption, is currently experiencing a major downturn. In Chainalysis’ 2021 crypto adoption index, Afghanistan was number 20 on the list. But since the Taliban’s takeover of the regime last August, the country has fallen to the bottom of this year’s list. Under the Taliban’s rule, cryptocurrency is equated to gambling and declared haram. And so far, several crypto dealers have been arrested in the country.

Last month, Chainalysis published a similar report showing that despite the global cryptocurrency adoption slowing down due to the impacts of the crypto winter, emerging nations continued dominating the adoption index this year as they did the year before.

Emerging markets have appeared to be on top in terms of adoption as they surpass high-income nations. According to the report, the top ten nations with the highest crypto adoption across the world are (1) Vietnam, (2) the Philippines, (3) Ukraine, (4) India, (5) the United States, (6) Pakistan, (7) Brazil, (8) Thailand, (9) Russia, and (10) China. As can be seen in the list, the US is the only representative of high-income countries within the index. China, Russia, and Brazil are upper-middle-income countries.

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Crypto Adoption in Sub-Saharan Africa Rises, Study Shows

by Blockchain News

Crypto usage in Sub-Saharan Africa is becoming mainstream rather than speculation, according to a report by blockchain analytic firm Chainalysis.

The report dubbed “How Cryptocurrency Meets Residents’ Economic Needs in Sub-Saharan Africa,” disclosed that the number of small retail transfers has surged, despite the bear market occurring in May. On the other hand, transfers of different sizes have dropped.

Per the study:

“If many of the people carrying out small retail transactions are trading cryptocurrency out of economic necessity — especially in countries where the values of local fiat currencies are dropping, as we’ve seen in Nigeria and Kenya, for example — then those people may be more willing to continue trading despite price drops.”

Source: Chainalysis

The report pointed out that many young people in the region were taking the cryptocurrency route to build and preserve wealth despite low economic opportunities. 

Based on an interview with Chainalysis, Adedeji Owonibi, the founder of Nigeria-based blockchain consultancy Convexity, noted:

“We see a lot of daily traders who are trading to make ends meet.”

He added:

“We don’t have big, institutional-level traders in Sub-Saharan Africa. The people driving the market here are retail. Nigeria has a ton of highly educated young graduates with high unemployment rates, no jobs available — crypto to them is a rescue. It’s a way to feed their family and solve their daily financial needs.”

Chainalysis found out that the uniqueness of Sub-Saharan Africa was pegged on the high usage of peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms and the retail market based on the transaction volume witnessed. Per the report:

“Retail transfers make up 95% of all transfers, and if we drill down to just small retail transfers under $1,000, the share becomes 80%, more than any other region.” 

Source: Chainalysis

With P2P exchanges clocking 6% of the entire crypto transaction volume in Sub-Saharan Africa, they are a fundamental part of the ecosystem. This is double that of the Central & Southern Asia and Oceania region, which comes second.

Source: Chainalysis

Creativity played an instrumental role in enabling leading P2P platforms like Paxful set foot on African soil. For instance, connecting Chinese and Nigerian gamers with gift cards.

Ray Youssef, the Paxful CEO, added:

“We had to get Bitcoin into Africa, which was difficult because it’s so hard to get money out of Africa. We needed a clever hack to make that happen. That hack ended up being gift cards.That got Bitcoin into Nigeria, and then the rest of Western Africa.”

Meanwhile, crypto exchange Binance recently launched a crypto education tour in five French-speaking countries to propel blockchain adoption and financial accessibility, Blockchain.News reported. 

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Crypto Adoption Grows among Asian Countries, Says Chainalysis Report

by Blockchain News

Countries in the Central & Southern Asia and Oceania (CSAO) region received more than $900 billion in crypto value from July 2021 to June 2022, according to Chainalysis released on Wednesday.

The report about cryptocurrency growth and adoption made CSAO region the third largest cryptocurrency market in the world.

The report further identified CSAO as the home to seven of the top twenty countries in this year’s index analysis: Vietnam (1), the Philippines (2), India (4), Pakistan (6), Thailand (8), Nepal (16), and Indonesia (20). The report further identified India, Thailand, and Vietnam as the countries that are leading the CSAO region in cryptocurrency value received in the last year.

India received $172 billion in cryptocurrency value from July 2021 through June of this year. Thailand, Vietnam, Australia, and Singapore follow close behind, with each receiving more than $100 billion. However, less engaged with cryptocurrencies are Central Asian countries like Uzbekistan and Oceanian island nations like the Maldives.

According to the report, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and play-to-earn games make up a significant portion of crypto holdings and web traffic in the CSAO region. 58% of web traffic from CSAO IP addresses to crypto services in Q2 2022 was NFT-related, and another 21% was to the websites of play-to-earn blockchain games.

Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines are some of the countries with high web traffic to NFT marketplaces. A large portion of that NFT-related traffic appears coming from players of blockchain games. While NFT-related websites account for a majority share of web traffic in almost every CSAO country, most of these countries have witnessed huge amounts of the share going to blockchain games and entertainment.

This clearly explains why CSAO is a hub for innovation in blockchain-based entertainment. For example, game-centric blockchain developers Polygon and Immutable X are headquartered in India and Australia. And Axie Infinity and STEPN, the two largest play-to-earn games, are operated in Vietnam and Australia, respectively.

Key Drivers for Crypto Adoption

Chainalysis further identified factors such as play-to-earn (P2E) games, remittance payments, regulatory concerns, and bear markets as the key drivers that influence the level of cryptocurrency adoption in these countries.

High penetration of play-to-earn (P2E) games in the CSAO in countries leads to high crypto activities in the region. An estimated 25% of Filipinos and 23% of Vietnamese citizens have played a play-to-earn game, and at one point, players based in the Philippines made up 40% of Axie Infinity’s playerbase.

Massive remittance markets have been seen in various CSAO countries. For instance, in Vietnam and the Philippines, remittance inflows account for 5% and 9.6% of their respective country-wide gross domestic products. Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh each have $20+ billion in remittance markets, and blockchain-based payment providers are beginning to disrupt traditional intermediaries.

Crypto regulatory concerns might have dampened crypto activities in Indian and Pakistani, but not the pace of innovation in the countries. Recent regulatory developments may help explain why Indian and Pakistani fell from the second and third highest adopters of cryptocurrency globally, respectively in 2021, to the fourth and sixth highest adopters in 2022.

Lastly, the bear market is considered to have been responsible for the decline of traffic to websites related to subjects like decentralized exchange contracts in recent quarters.

Emerging Markets Leading Global Adoption

Chainalysis, which recently helped US regulators recover $30 million in funds stolen from the Ronin Bridge, last week released a global crypto adoption index report that confirmed the above analysis. Last week’s Chainalysis report showed that while global adoption slowed down due to the impacts of the crypto winter, emerging markets have appeared to be on fire in terms of adoption as they surpass high-income nations.

Emerging markets are in the forefront. Chainalysis data showed that lower-middle-income countries such as  Vietnam, Philippines, Ukraine, India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Morocco, Nepal, Kenya, and Indonesia hold positions in the top 20 countries in terms of global crypto adoption, with Vietnam holding position one.

Upper-middle-income countries like Brazil, Thailand, Russia, China, Turkey, Argentina, Colombia and Ecuador have also appeared on the list. The US and the UK are the only representatives of high-income countries within the index.

Image source: Chainalysis, Shutterstock

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Honduras Establishes Bitcoin Valley in Santa Lucia to Boost Crypto Opportunities

by Blockchain News

Honduras has entered the cryptocurrency trend after launching “Bitcoin Valley” in Santa Lucia meant to spur more opportunities in the digital asset space, according to Reuters. 

As a result, the tourist town of Santa Lucia has shifted to a Bitcoin city because business owners are adopting crypto payments to boost tourism.

 

Cesar Andino, the manager of Los Robles shopping square, pointed out:

“It will open more opportunities and attract more people who want to use this currency.”

Santa Lucia is strategically located because it is just 20 minutes from the nation’s capital Tegucugalpa.

 

The “Bitcoin Valley” project was jointly developed by Santa Lucia’s municipality, the Technological University of Honduras, the Guatemalan cryptocurrency exchange consortium Coincaex, and the Blockchain Honduras organization. 

 

Therefore, the initiative will initially target 60 businesses to be trained about cryptocurrencies and how to use them as marketing tools for their services and products. The project is expected to be rolled out to more enterprises in Santa Lucia and nearby areas. 

 

Ruben Carbajal Velazquez, a professor at the Technological University, welcomed the “Bitcoin Valley” concept and said:

“Santa Lucia’s community will be educated to use and manage cryptocurrencies, implementing them in different businesses in the region and generating crypto-tourism.”

Since El Salvador accepted Bitcoin as legal tender in September last year, crypto interest in Latin America has soared.

 

For instance, a recent study by Mastercard disclosed that more than 50% of consumers in Latin America were participating in crypto transactions. The payments giant pointed out:

“51% of consumers in the region have already made a transaction with crypto assets, and more than a third say they have made a payment for an everyday purchase with stablecoin.”

Therefore, Latin Americans see cutting-edge technologies like crypto as an ideal payment option.

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