Africa Is Making Its Presence Felt In The Cryptocurrency World

Crypto isn’t truly global until it reaches the world’s largest continent. The growth potential of Bitcoin, which is up 4% this week, will seemingly reach new ceilings, as African banks and businesses are exploring the coin’s potential.

Luno, a cryptocurrency trading exchange app based out of South African plans to draw 1 billion Bitcoin and Ethereum wallet users by the year 2025. The company made history on the continent in 2013, becoming the first business to bring Bitcoin trading to Africa.

While Bitcoin is down 30% from last year’s highs, which saw the cryptocurrency nearly hit $20,000.

Cryptocurrency is the next frontier of huge societal shifts, along with the legalization of medical and recreational marijuana and CBD. 

The rockiness of the coin opens the door for many investors to get in on the ground floor as it continues to rise. Luno plans to lead the charge in that regard, as they currently serve close to 2 million customers based out of 40 different countries around the world. Many of these countries have markets that are just now emerging and have incredible potential for growth.

Recent announcements from the South African Reserve Bank make it clear that blockchain technology is a top priority moving forward.

The central bank announced an initiative this week that involves researching and studying JPMorgan as they look to incorporate blockchain technology. South Africa is looking to gain some perspective on regulation and policies that would help it be used practically and on a widespread level.

This month, the continent also saw the pre-sale launch of its very first cryptocurrency, called Nurucoin. When the presale went live, it already had close to 6,000 investors. Having this currency in place will have ramifications for the future of the continent as a whole since the continent trades globally 55% more than it trades internally.

Perhaps most importantly, African countries are on board with safety and security. South African financial experts are placing a huge priority on implementing mining hardware and ATMs that keep investors and consumers safe every step of the way. 

First, the continent’s banks will have to figure out how they’ll handle matters of taxation and court regulation.

It will also be interesting to see what role energy plays in this African cryptocurrency growth, as eco-advocates around the world are debating that the mining of the currency wastes precious amounts of energy.

All of these details will unpack piece by piece in the coming months, as the world’s largest continent is officially investing serious time, money and thought into cryptocurrency.