Written by: Lim Yu Qian
Compiled by: TechFlow
Which African countries are most interested in cryptocurrencies?
Nigeria’s interest in cryptocurrency is by far the highest in Africa through 2023. It represents 66.8% of the continent’s cryptocurrency interest year to date (YTD), nearly eight times that of the next most interested African country.
Nigeria has previously been ranked as the world’s most crypto-curious country, along with Kenya. The West African country has also frequently appeared in other global rankings, showing a keen interest in niche cryptocurrencies, including meme coins, Web3 gaming, AI cryptocurrencies and even proof of reserves.
As in other African countries, Nigeria’s interest in and adoption of cryptocurrencies has been largely driven by weak traditional financial infrastructure and economic challenges, including high inflation and currency devaluation.
Collectively, the top 15 African countries represent 97.5% of the continent’s cryptocurrency interest this year.
African countries with moderate interest in cryptocurrencies
South Africa, Morocco, Ghana, Egypt, and Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) contribute less to Africa’s cryptocurrency interest, collectively accounting for 23.8% of the continent’s cryptocurrency interest so far this year. They currently rank second to sixth among the African countries most interested in cryptocurrency this year.
Some of these African countries have also appeared in global rankings, though usually below Nigeria: earlier this year, Morocco was among the top ten countries with the most interest in Meme Coin, and South Africa ranked 11th in Proof of Reserve interest. Egypt was also identified as the 9th country most affected by last year’s FTX debacle.
African countries with the lowest interest in cryptocurrencies
The remaining 48 African countries have relatively low interest in cryptocurrencies across the continent, with each country accounting for less than 2.0% of the total this year. Specifically, only 41 of the 54 African countries have shown interest in cryptocurrencies this year, while 13 countries across Africa currently have no interest in cryptocurrencies at all.
Of the top 15 African countries most interested in cryptocurrencies, the countries ranked from seventh to fifteenth account for only 6.9% of the cryptocurrency interest share. These nine countries are Uganda, Angola, Algeria, Tunisia, Kenya, Namibia, Mauritius, Botswana and Seychelles, which account for 0.4% to 1.6% of Africa's cryptocurrency interest respectively.
Although Seychelles has a smaller share of cryptocurrency interest in Africa, it plays a disproportionate role in the cryptocurrency industry as a business-friendly tax haven. Six of the top 30 centralized cryptocurrency exchanges are registered in Seychelles, the highest number for a single country.
Overall, interest in cryptocurrencies in Africa is concentrated in a few countries on the continent. This highlights the current uneven interest in cryptocurrencies across Africa, but it may also reflect the characteristics of the African cryptocurrency community. For example, African investors may not check cryptocurrency prices as frequently as those in other regions.
Which African regions are most interested in cryptocurrencies?
West Africa has the highest interest in cryptocurrencies at 74.7%, followed by North Africa (10.0%) and South Africa (9.6%). East Africa (3.8%) and Central Africa (1.9%) are the least interested in cryptocurrencies in Africa.
Among the top 15 African countries most interested in cryptocurrencies, North Africa and East Africa have 4 representatives each. South Africa and West Africa have 3 representatives each, while Central Africa has only 1 country in the top 15.
In other words, 4 out of 6 North African countries and 4 out of 18 East African countries made it into the top 15 in Africa. Meanwhile, 3 out of 5 South African countries, 3 out of 16 West African countries, and 1 out of 9 Central African countries also made it into the top 15.
Which cryptocurrencies are African countries eyeing in 2023?
Meme coins, DeFi tokens, and blockchain networks are by far the most popular cryptocurrencies in Africa. These three narratives represent 13 of the top 17 cryptocurrencies in Africa, including 7 meme coins, 4 DeFi-related tokens, and 3 blockchain networks’ native currencies.
Unlike Southeast Asia’s enthusiasm for Pepe (PEPE), the entire meme coin sector seems to have a higher level of cryptocurrency interest in Africa. African investors are interested in a wide variety of meme coins, from Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu Coin (SHIB), to other dog-inspired coins such as Baby Doge Coin (BABYDOGE) and Bonk (BONK), to the more recent Pepe and Peepo (PEEPO).
Of the 6 countries analyzed, Morocco and Ivory Coast are the only two that list Meme Coin in their top 3 cryptocurrencies. In addition, Morocco is also interested in payment protocol Ripple (XRP), and Ivory Coast is interested in the controversial Terra Luna Classic (LUNC).
The other 4 African countries all have different narratives in their top 3 cryptocurrencies, similar to Southeast Asia, likely due to the lack of a strong crypto narrative emerging in 2023.
In Nigeria, investors have been focusing on lending protocol Liquity (LQTY), as well as Conflux (CFX), a first-layer protocol that led the Chinese narrative earlier this year. The top three cryptocurrencies in neighboring Ghana are DeGods-related Dust Protocol (DUST), Bitcoin (BTC), and another lending protocol Kava (KAVA).
In North Africa, the top three cryptocurrencies that Egyptian investors are watching include Sweatcoin (SWEAT) from the income-focused Sweat Economy and tokens from the newly launched second-layer blockchain Arbitrum (ARB).
Finally, South Africa’s most popular cryptocurrencies include computing technology Truebit Protocol (TRU) and decentralized exchange Dodo (DODO), its native token.
Top cryptocurrencies in Africa in 2023
The most popular cryptocurrencies in Nigeria are Peepo (PEEPO), Liquity (LQTY), and Conflux (CFX).
The most popular cryptocurrencies in South Africa are Truebit Protocol (TRU), Shiba Inu (SHIB), and Dodo (DODO).
The most popular cryptocurrencies in Morocco are Dogecoin (DOGE), Ripple (XRP), and Bonk (BONK).
The most popular cryptocurrencies in Ghana are Dust Protocol (DUST), Bitcoin (BTC), and Kava (KAVA).
The most popular cryptocurrencies in Egypt are Sweatcoin (SWEAT), Arbitrum (ARB), and Pepe (PEPE).
The most popular cryptocurrencies in Cote d’Ivoire are Terra Luna Classic (LUNC), Baby Doge Coin (BABYDOGE), and Shiba Inu (SHIB).
Cryptocurrency interest in Africa by country in 2023
The remaining 13 African countries that recorded no page views during this period are: Burundi, Cape Verde (Cape Verde), Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Malawi, and Sao Tome and Principe.
Research methods
The study examined cryptocurrency interest in various African countries based on CoinGecko’s page view data from January 1 to July 4, 2023. To ensure representative data, potentially inflated page views were excluded.
This research is for illustrative and informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Always conduct your own research and exercise caution when investing funds in any cryptocurrency or financial asset.