Bitcoin trading volume hits all-time highs in six countries

Something very special is happening in the world of peer-to-peer Bitcoin trading.

According to data compiled by analytics site Useful Tulips, developing regions throughout the world have recently seen an explosion of interest in crypto, particularly in Latin America and Africa.

And as demonstrated in tweet from independent crypto researcher Kevin Rooke, six countries struck all-time high Bitcoin trading volumes earlier this week: India ($3.4 million), Ghana ($1.7 million), Philippines ($1 million), Argentina ($1 million), Mexico ($700,000) and Egypt ($150,000).

The data demonstrates a continuation of a trend that has been building up since the beginning of the year. Africa is emerging as the next big hub of Bitcoin P2P trading, and trading volume in Latin America continues to increase as well.

India's more recent rise to prominence in the P2P trading world could be due to the government's new favorable stance on crypto. In early June, Decrypt reported that India was experiencing substantial growth in Bitcoin trading, reaching $2.7 million, very close to the previous all-time high of $2.9 million recorded in 2017.

For its part, Mexico is strengthening its position in the crypto ecosystem thanks to the efforts of several fintechs that seek to take advantage of the country's potential as a destination for international remittances, using cryptocurrencies as a way of sending and receiving value.

Bitcoin trading in Argentina is also growing. Trading activity has emerged in much the same way as Bitcoin's beginnings in Venezuela. Rising inflation, financial controls, and difficulty in accessing foreign currency have given Bitcoin a particular appeal among Argentines as a store of value in the face of a crisis that shows no signs of improving any time soon.

Peer-to-peer trading is popular in these regions because it makes it easier to do business in sanctioned countries where a centralized exchange will find it difficult to provide ordinary services. In other instances, traders might also simply just prefer this more personalized style of doing business.

Either way, peer-to-peer Bitcoin trading is on the rise. According to Glassnode’s Q2 2020 report, released in collaboration with Formal Verification earlier this week, the two most prominent P2P Bitcoin exchanges in the world—LocalBitcoins and Paxful—registered healthy growth this last quarter.

LocalBitcoins grew by 12%, whereas Paxful grew by 28%, compared to the previous quarter. It’s the biggest growth either exchange has seen in the last year and half.

And it’s this type of growth that might be encouraging crypto exchange giants like Binance to create their own P2P platforms, and likewise focusing on underdeveloped regions of the world as key growth sectors.