Why Africa is at The Forefront of Bitcoin

The use of Cryptocurrency is something that has increased across many parts of the world; however, Africa is probably not at the top of your list when you think about the countries that have embraced digital currency. However, Google search results show that many parts of Africa are often in the Top 10 when it comes to places that have Googled Bitcoin-related phrases; and it is this that is amongst the reasons why many people consider Africa to be one of the most promising parts of the world when it comes to adoption of Cryptocurrency as a way of spending money.

Using Cryptocurrency

Although everyone will have their own reasons for using Cryptocurrency, the fact that it is largely untraceable will certainly help to increase its popularity. For example, it allows you to take part in gambling in Africa, which is a hobby that is largely frowned upon by financial institutions. However, as you may imagine just because gambling is not allowed in Africa, that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t take place – instead, it happens under the radar and has done for a great number of years.

Although we do not know for sure who is the creator of Bitcoin, we do know that the name behind it (Satoshi Nakamoto) wanted it to be a way for people to carry out financial transactions with a level of anonymity – and that is certainly something that Africa as a country, in general, have embraced.

The Popularity of Digital Currency in Africa

Before the likes of Bitcoin started to become popular in Africa, the country really got to grips with mobile money. People tended to favour sending money to people this way than via their actual bank account, meaning that their bank did not have full access to their financial transactions and information on how they were spending their mobile. It is the success of mobile money in this part of the world that likely drive people to position the likes of Bitcoin as a viable option there. Many people were already used to spending their money digitally, so making the jump to using Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency seemed more of a small step than a giant leap – especially when compared to other parts of the world where the likes of mobile money hadn’t caught on in the same way.

The Growing Popularity of Bitcoin

Bitcoin may have been around since 2009; however, it really is only in more recent years that it has started to take off in a more mainstream way. Bitcoin was arguably the first mainstream Bitcoin in existence however it is certainly not the only digital currency that people are familiar with. Many would argue that Bitcoin simply helped to drive the adoption of Cryptocurrency in places like Africa and that others will overtake it in the popularity stakes in the future.

One of the reasons that Bitcoin has proved so popular in Africa and indeed other parts of the world is the fact that it is encrypted and decentralised; which means people can buy, sell and trade it in a way that is not traceable like more traditional spending methods. Mobile money did allow this in some ways, but it wasn’t flawless and in fact led to an increase in identity theft. As Cryptocurrency is anonymous by nature, the lack of needing to share personal details means that there is less chance of your details being stolen and used by someone else and that is most certainly a factor that would have helped the residents of Africa embrace Bitcoin as a viable way to spend and store money.