Peer-to-peer trading is driving Africa’s digital money revolution

Peer-to-peer (P2P) cryptocurrency trading platforms are now the engine of growth as Africa pulls ahead of the rest of the world in grass-roots adoptions of virtual cash.

Retail-sized transfers make up a larger share of the continent’s cryptocurrency activity on the continent with P2P enabling the practical use of digital money.

This remains a mirage in most of the Americas, Europe, and parts of Asia where cryptocurrency is still viewed as a highly speculative asset, or simply, the future of money.

P2P platforms are popular in Africa especially for remittances and commercial transactions

Cryptos’ biggest onslaught came recently when China launched a crackdown effectively banning cryptocurrencies in a move that roiled digital cash spot prices worldwide.

Those platforms have struck a chord with users across the continent where consumers, specifically in Nigeria and Kenya, use them to sidestep stringent financial regulations that curtail cash transfers from banks to cryptocurrency businesses.

Regulators in the two states have been advising banks not to allow these transfers but P2P platforms, which are non-custodial, let customers trade cash for cryptocurrency amongst themselves.

Chinese citizens can therefore take a cue from Africans who are using P2P to trade cryptos.