Across Africa, digital assets are increasingly being converted, spent, and built into everyday financial decisions. The question is no longer whether Africans use crypto, but what they use it for, and what that tells us about how the continent’s relationship with money is changing.
The scale of crypto activity in Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa is still the smallest crypto economy by absolute volume, yet it recorded the third-highest growth rate globally between July 2024 and June 2025, according to Chainalysis. Indeed, on-chain value received across the region reached $205 billion over that period, up 52% year on year, behind only Asia-Pacific and Latin America.
Nigeria leads the region by a considerable margin, accounting for $92.1 billion in transactions, nearly triple the volume of second-ranked South Africa. Ethiopia, Kenya, and Ghana complete the top five.
Nigeria’s position at the top is shaped by a large youth population, chronic inflation, and limited access to foreign currency through official channels. March 2025 stood out, with monthly on-chain volume hitting nearly $25 billion while most other regions recorded declines. The driver was largely centralized exchange activity in Nigeria following a sharp naira devaluation, which tends to push volumes up in two ways: people move into digital assets to preserve purchasing power, and the same purchases register as larger amounts in local currency terms as the exchange rate shifts.
How Africans actually use crypto
Stablecoins account for 43% of the region’s total crypto transaction volume, according to the previously mentioned Chainalysis report. Unlike Bitcoin (BTC) or Ethereum (ETH), stablecoins are pegged to the US dollar, making them a way to hold dollar-denominated value without needing a foreign bank account or access to official foreign exchange channels. In markets where local currencies are volatile and dollar access is restricted, that is a practical advantage.
Nigeria illustrates this clearly. Inflation peaked at around 26% in mid-2025 before easing to around 16% by mid-2026, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, but the naira has remained under pressure throughout. With the Central Bank of Nigeria maintaining tight restrictions on foreign currency access, moving savings into dollars through official channels has not been a straightforward option for most people.
Indeed, a February 2026 Stablecoin Utility Report conducted by YouGov, found that 95% of Nigerian respondents said they would prefer to receive payments in stablecoins rather than in the local currency.
What’s more, around 36% of Nigerian adults are unbanked, according to Cornell University research published in August 2025, and for many in that group, stablecoins have become a way to save money without going through the formal banking system at all.
Remittances add another dimension. Sub-Saharan Africa received $56 billion in remittances in 2024, even though the region remains the most expensive globally for sending money, with fees averaging 8.78% on a $200 transfer according to World Bank Remittance Prices Worldwide data for Q1 2025, nearly triple the UN’s 3% Sustainable Development Goal target. Crypto offers a cheaper and faster alternative, and stablecoins have become a common rail for freelancers receiving international payments and families receiving money from the diaspora.
Finally, over 8% of all value transferred in the region was under $10,000, compared to 6% globally, pointing to individuals managing everyday financial needs rather than traders moving large sums.
Nigeria and Ghana, crypto in practise
Both Nigeria and Ghana have taken steps to formalize their crypto markets.
Nigeria’s Investment and Securities Act 2025 classified digital assets as securities under the Securities and Exchange Commission, in turn giving licensed platforms a clearer operating framework.
Ghana passed its own Virtual Asset Service Providers Bill in December 2025, formally legalizing cryptocurrency trading under Bank of Ghana oversight and bringing an estimated $3 billion in annual informal crypto activity into the regulated perimeter, according to Ecofin Agency. More than 30% of the Ghanaian population still lacks access to formal financial services, according to African Business, making the regulatory shift particularly significant for the broader population using crypto outside any formal framework.
In both markets, the practical need driving adoption is conversion. Users need crypto to become local currency to pay for goods, services, and everyday expenses, and the infrastructure that makes that possible is where much of the real activity happens.
Breet is one of the platforms built specifically around that need. Operating across Nigeria and Ghana, it is a crypto exchange designed for users who want to convert digital assets to local currency quickly and without complexity.
According to Breet, the platform supports over 40 assets, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT, and USDC, and settles directly to local bank accounts in naira or cedis. Beyond conversion, it also covers bill payments, crypto gifting, and a business invoicing tool for merchants accepting crypto. Breet is registered with Nigeria’s Data Protection Commission, PCI DSS compliant, and operates within the regulatory frameworks both countries have been building out.
In fact, Breet reports over 5 million transactions processed, billions converted into local fiat, and more than 400,000 verified users across Nigeria and Ghana. That volume is one measure of how much demand exists for this kind of infrastructure in these two markets specifically.
What the numbers signal
The conditions driving crypto adoption in Sub-Saharan Africa including inflation, restricted foreign currency access, expensive remittance corridors, and large unbanked populations, predate the current crypto boom and will outlast any price cycle. People are not buying cryptocurrency because the price is rising. They are using stablecoins because local currencies are losing value, because sending money home is expensive or because a bank account is either inaccessible or impractical.
The infrastructure being built around those needs is what makes this moment different from previous waves of crypto enthusiasm in the region. Platforms focused on conversion, off-ramps, and everyday utility, including Breet in Nigeria and Ghana, are responding to demand that exists regardless of what markets are doing. As long as the underlying economic conditions remain, so does the case for crypto as a practical financial tool across the continent.
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