Stablecoins Dominate Digital Asset Transactions in Sub-Saharan Africa, Surpassing Bitcoin

A study revealed that stablecoins represented 43% of cryptocurrency transactions in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2024, significantly outpacing bitcoin’s 18.1% share.

Transaction Growth and Nigerian Dominance

According to a study, stablecoins accounted for 43% of cryptocurrency transactions in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in 2024, more than double that of bitcoin (18.1%). Nigeria and South Africa lead the SSA in stablecoin adoption, while Ethiopia, Zambia, Mauritius, Kenya, and Ghana saw the biggest increases in stablecoin use.

Ethiopia and Zambia both recorded year-on-year (YOY) growth in stablecoin use exceeding 100%. The report cites the Ethiopian birr’s devaluation by 30% in July of last year as the likely reason for the country’s 180% increase in stablecoin use.

As shown by study data, small retail transactions (under $1,000) grew by 12.6%, while large retail transactions ($1,000 to $10,000) increased by 10.6%. Large institutional transactions ($10 million and above) saw minimal growth at 0.2%, whereas professional transactions ($10,000 to $1 million) experienced a substantial increase of 60.4%. Overall, the data highlights a significant rise in smaller retail and professional stablecoin transactions.

Nigeria, meanwhile, had by far the largest inflow of stablecoins of any country in SSA, with $20 billion, or 40% of the region’s total inflows. Besides the surge in stablecoin use, Nigeria also saw a notable increase in decentralized finance (DeFi)-related activities.

“In addition to the rising prominence of stablecoins, DeFi is experiencing a major moment in Nigeria, echoing the broader trend of Sub-Saharan Africa as the global leader in DeFi adoption. Nigeria’s crypto activity is largely driven by smaller denomination retail and professional sized transactions, with around 85% of the value of transfers received under $1 million,” the study report said.

The report concludes that as regulatory frameworks become more defined, institutional adoption of DeFi protocols is expected to grow. This may pave the way for a hybrid model in which decentralized platforms operate under centralized oversight, creating new opportunities for traders to pursue yield and arbitrage.