Africa: Ghana set to catch up to Nigeria and Kenya in terms of crypto adoption: Chainalysis

As emerging markets take the lead in crypto adoption, Ghana, a country located in West Africa, may soon catch up with other African countries regarding cryptocurrency use.

In a report released by blockchain analytics platform Chainalysis, researchers found that Ghana has the potential to achieve crypto adoption levels similar to Kenya and Nigeria, countries that ranked 11th and 19th in the analytics firm’s Global Crypto Adoption Index.

According to Ray Youssef, the CEO of peer-to-peer (P2P) platform Paxful, the local population’s needs along with the current growth trends in Ghana show its potential to become a leader in crypto adoption in Africa.

Youssef said that the total trading volume from Ghana in their P2P exchange has grown by 400% in the last two years. The executive also believes that many Nigerians consider Ghana as their home during the summer and are educating Ghanaians on Bitcoin (BTC) and crypto.

Chainalysis also mentioned that the insights provided by Youssef align with their data on Ghana. The analytics firm added that apart from Ghana, other sub-Saharan African countries are expected to have higher levels of crypto usage as many residents continue to face issues that could be solved by crypto.

In a recent interview at the Africa Money & DeFi Summit, Kwame Oppong, an executive at the Bank of Ghana, shared that the country is testing and preparing for a central bank digital currency (CBDC). According to Oppong, they are pursuing a CBDC to foster financial inclusion within the country. The executive believes that there is a lot of potential for crypto use due to its many benefits.