Graphic : Hope Mukami/bird story agency
Stablecoins and crypto networks are taking on banks and money transfer firms in one of the world’s most expensive regions for sending money. Nigeria and South Africa are the continent’s crypto hotbeds.
By Seth Onyango, bird story agency
Africa’s costly remittance market is drawing a new set of rivals as more people use crypto to send money at home and across borders.
Chainalysis says the continent is now the world’s fastest‑growing crypto region, driven largely by small, everyday transfers that bypass traditional money channels.
It reflects the new way Africans move money and is forcing legacy operators to confront a new competitor that settles instantly, charges less, and operates outside the banking system.
Chainalysis is a blockchain analytics firm that tracks global crypto flows, adoption trends and on‑chain activity for governments, financial institutions and the private sector.
Its latest report places Nigeria third globally for crypto adoption, with particularly strong peer‑to‑peer and cross‑border activity.
South Africa, meanwhile, has climbed into the global top 10, ranking ninth after missing out on the top 20 last year, and placing third worldwide for cross‑border flows.
The rankings follow rapid growth in the preceding year, when Africa received more than $205 billion in on-chain value between July 2024 and June 2025, up 52%. Nigeria accounted for $92.1 billion and South Africa $31.5 billion, ahead of Ethiopia, Kenya and Ghana.
Worldwide, transfers directly between personal wallets rose 302.9% to $228.7 billion, with stablecoins accounting for 96% of the activity.
Now, payments are becoming an important part of that growth, as more African migrants sidestep traditional money transfer channels to use stablecoins to send money home.
In a region where remittance fees remain among the highest in the world, the appeal of alternative channels is only expected to grow.
African diaspora remittances reached a record $124 billion in 2025, serving as a vital financial lifeline that eclipses official development aid and foreign direct investment across the continent.
Crypto rails now allow users to move money across borders in minutes, often at a fraction of the cost of traditional operators.
Aly‑Khan Satchu, an economist and markets analyst, says Africa’s young population is central to the surge.
“I think crypto growth is being driven by a young population, historical downside trading action in African currencies and therefore an overarching belief in crypto as a credible store of value,” Satchu said.
He noted that crypto is making the fastest headway in economies with strict foreign exchange controls.
In these markets, users are turning to stablecoins to bypass restrictions and access global payment networks.
This is particularly visible in Nigeria, where currency volatility and foreign exchange shortages have pushed people toward alternative rails, explaining why it is the world’s leading market for peer-to-peer and cross-border crypto activity.
“Nigeria is a big Economic Beast on the continent, and therefore it’s natural for it to hold a leadership position,” Satchu said, pointing to its massive diaspora.
“A large Diaspora is also driving growth as it seeks to leverage crypto as a medium of exchange versus a very expensive old-school money transfer architecture.”
Unlike Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies whose prices can move sharply, stablecoins such as USDT and USDC are designed to track currencies such as the US dollar. They allow users to send dollar-linked value between digital wallets and convert it into local currency when needed.
Asked whether crypto and stablecoins were becoming genuine payment rails rather than mainly speculative assets, Satchu pointed to one token in particular.
“Yes, specifically USDT, which is now ubiquitous,” he said.
USDT (Tether) and USDC (USD Coin) are digital currencies known as stablecoins that are designed to maintain a stable value of one U.S. dollar.
The rise of stablecoins is putting pressure on traditional remittance operators that have long dominated Africa’s cross-border payment market.
Although banks and money transfer firms have their own digital services, users can now compare them with crypto based options that can move value directly between wallets.
Tellingly, in South Africa, crypto use has surged despite the country’s more developed banking system.
“South Africa’s developed banking system still has a lot of people outside the banking system for whom crypto and stablecoins are an attractive and easy-to-use system,” Satchu said.
South Africa ranks third globally for cross border crypto activity and fourth for peer to peer transactions despite having one of Africa’s most developed banking systems.
But the country has also brought more of the industry under formal regulation. Hundreds of crypto asset service providers have been licensed, while established financial companies have expanded their involvement in digital assets.
Chainalysis data also shows a growth in low‑value crypto transfers across Africa, driven by families who rely on remittances to survive.
These payments, often under $200s, are adding up to a major disruption, and are being driven also in part by Africa’s growing digital workforce.
Freelancers, remote workers and small businesses are increasingly paid in crypto, especially in Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana. These payments often move through stablecoins, which offer predictable value and global reach. Once received, many users convert only what they need into local currency, keeping the rest in digital form to avoid volatility.
Chainalysis has recorded stablecoin use in commercial payments between Africa and trading partners in the Middle East and Asia. For small businesses without the banking relationships available to larger companies, the networks provide another route for settling foreign bills.
Still, banks and money transfer groups have extensive distribution networks, including cash collection points, and operate within established consumer protection and financial regulation.
Mobile money has also cut the cost and time of domestic and regional transfers across much of Africa.
On-chain figures thus do not distinguish every payment from trading or investment. Stablecoins themselves remain widely used to buy and sell other digital assets, making total transaction volumes an imperfect measure of their use for remittances.
The new rankings nevertheless show unusually strong activity outside exchanges. Nigeria leads the world in both peer-to-peer and cross border crypto transactions, while South Africa’s third place for cross border activity stands well above its position for overall crypto flows.
Governments are now responding with rules covering crypto providers, consumer protection, money laundering and foreign exchange.
Tighter regulation could also narrow some of the cost advantage enjoyed by crypto networks as providers take on compliance requirements similar to those faced by banks and remittance companies.
Satchu expects adoption to continue.
“These numbers clearly indicate an accelerating trend which is set to accelerate further,” he said.
Banks and money transfer firms are now competing with networks that allow customers to receive dollars, send money home and pay foreign suppliers without routing the entire transaction through them.
And with Africa’s crypto surging, it is expected to further challenge legacy operators, empowering users and creating new pathways for cross‑border payments.
The battle over Africa’s remittances will therefore be about which platform can deliver speed, affordability and stability in a region where every dollar counts.
And for now, according to Chainalysis, crypto is winning.
bird story agency
Leave a Reply