Bitcoin trading in Sub-Saharan Africa is on a historic upswing.
At the moment, overall Bitcoin trading across peer-to-peer platforms has surpassed even the peak of the 2017 bull run, according to the data from analytics site Useful Tulips.
Over the last week, Ghana, Kenya, and the Central African region have reached new all-time highs in terms of P2P Bitcoin trading, while Nigeria came very close to breaking its previous record as well. According to Useful Tulips creator Matt Ahlborg, the surge in interest is potentially two-fold: the current state of these developing economies, and the expectations derived from the upcoming Bitcoin halving.
[1/5] Holy Smokes! Sub-Saharan Africa had its first 10M voume week ever on P2P exchanges, stomping the weekly record set in Dec 2017! The volume is likely a bedrock of utility use with a substantial bump of speculation related to the halvening: pic.twitter.com/CTIAoFbSRf
— Matt Ahlborg [UsefulTulips.org] (@MattAhlborg) May 5, 2020
Nigeria is the queen of regional Bitcoin trading, with some $7.2 million exchanged during the past week. Behind it are Kenya and South Africa with $1.6 million and $1.1 million exchanged, respectively.
Other countries in the region moved less than $1 million in BTC last week, but showed a considerable increase in interest in Bitcoin just the same. Ghana, for example, registered a substantial number of new signups on the Paxful exchange, according to its CEO Ray Youseff.
Another BlockBuster week on @Paxful. Trade volume up over 20%+ and record breaking new user signups! Ghana 🇬🇭 Nigeria 🇳🇬 and Pakistan 🇵🇰 are leading the way! #bitcoin recent upswing will soon have another wave based on real human demand! #p2pfinance
Although regional inflation is fairly under control, ranging from 4% to 7% year-on-year, the worldwide economic crisis induced by the novel coronavirus outbreak has not gone unfelt in this part of the world.
According to World Bank data, Sub-Saharan Africa is on the verge of its first recession in 25 years, falling from 2.4% economic growth in 2019 to -5.1% in 2020. "Real gross domestic product growth is projected to fall sharply particularly in the region's three largest economies—Nigeria, Angola, and South Africa—as a result of persistently weak growth and investment," the World Bank said.
Bitcoin's price has shot up through the $9,000 mark, reaching its current price of $9,265. This positions its market cap above $170 billion.
Bitcoin's price has been steadily building over the past two months. After seeing recent lows on March 13, at $4,500, its price has now rebounded up 105%.
Today's price rise comes just six days ahead of the Bitcoin halving.
On May 12 (or thereabouts), the new supply of Bitcoin will be cut in half, reducing its rate of inflation. This event happens every fo...
The situation in Africa shows a strong resemblance to what several economies in Latin America are currently experiencing. For some time now, the rampant inflation and devaluation of national currencies has led some traders in the region to turn to Bitcoin as a way to store and transfer value, given the difficulty they face investing in other commodities or even buying physical dollars.
Both Latin America and Africa could prove to be a testing ground for Bitcoin’s status as a store of value in times of economic difficulty.
Daily Debrief Newsletter
Start every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.
Bitcoin Halving
A collection of stories exploring the halving of the Bitcoin mining reward and the implications for the wider community.
The first satoshi mined on the Bitcoin blockchain after last week’s halving event, mined by Bitcoin mining pool ViaBTC, went up for auction—and fetched a sizable seven-figure sum.
The auction of “epic sat” 1,968,750,000,000,000, hosted on the cryptocurrency exchange CoinEX, ended Thursday with a final bid of 33.3 Bitcoin ($2.13 million worth) winning the piece of Bitcoin history. It's not yet clear who won the auction.
The auction of the Epic Sat began on April 20, the day after the halving, wit...
It's been roughly four days since Bitcoin (BTC)’s fourth halving event occurred, and market watchers have amassed enough data to give an early verdict on its effects.
For one, Bitcoin’s supply inflation rate has collapsed, as expected. Each Bitcoin block—mined roughly once every ten minutes—now produces just 3.125 new BTC, half of its former 6.25 BTC block subsidy.
Before the halving, 900 BTC was generated daily, fueling a 1.7% inflation rate. The new figures are roughly equivalent to 450 BTC pe...
Earn a free on-chain NFT by taking our course, "Bitcoin Halving 101: What it Means for Miners and Investors."
Every four years, the amount of Bitcoin doled out to cryptocurrency miners halves in a process imaginatively known as the Bitcoin halving (or halvening, though the term has fallen out of favor in recent years). Here’s why—and how—it works.
Bitcoin’s supply limit
To understand the Bitcoin halving, we must first understand the theory behind its supply.
The inventor of Bitcoin, Satoshi Naka...
