Africa is the second largest continent with a population of over 1.2 billion people. The continent currently boasts of some of the fastest developing economies in the world today. This only means that Africa is rising and the world better watch out!
Cryptocurrency and blockchain technology is not a new phenomenon as thousands if not millions of people in the continent already own some. However, this technology is currently only alive to a fraction of the population.
The rest of the African population are missing out on the invention of the century due to two main factors:
- Most Africans are conservatives and like the feeling of safety, which comes with avoiding the unknown. Change is viewed as a scary monster to most people…but don’t get me wrong, it’s not their fault. Most people lack enough opportunities; inadequate resources such as infrastructure; government policies may also discourage change, fear of being hacked, among many other reasons.
- There is lack of enough sensitization on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology in Africa. Most people heard of Bitcoin for their first time through Ponzi schemes which have repeatedly targeted and scammed unsuspecting people billions of dollars. This has created a bad image for cryptocurrency among many. The only way to overcome this is through effective public sensitization.
However, the future is bright for Africa. The few people who have embraced cryptocurrency and benefited from it have started spreading the good word. Africans have started warming up to cryptocurrency like never before. By the end of year 2017, thousands of people made a fortune from cryptos. This has encouraged even more people to embrace the new technology.
This article series explores the current state of cryptocurrency in Africa, and what to expect in the future. With the current developments and growth pace, Africa will become one of the largest cryptocurrency markets in the world in a few years to come.
Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments section below ;)