Enos Mulongo
July 20, 2026
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Kasi Insight's latest Cryptocurrency in Africa survey study provides a comprehensive view of cryptocurrency adoption, ownership, usage patterns and preferred digital assets across 20 African markets. Conducted in December 2022 and June 2026, the study enables businesses to track how Africa's crypto landscape is evolving over time while uncovering opportunities by country, generation and gender. For cryptocurrency exchanges, fintech companies, investors and blockchain businesses, the data provides a valuable lens into where crypto adoption is accelerating, which assets dominate consumer portfolios and where the next wave of market growth is likely to emerge.
Between 2022 and 2026, cryptocurrency ownership across the surveyed African markets remained relatively niche, with 7% of consumers currently owning cryptocurrency. However, beneath this continental average lies a rapidly changing competitive landscape. The most striking story comes from Tanzania, where ownership nearly quadrupled from 7% in 2022 to 27% in 2026, making it the clear leader among the surveyed markets. This dramatic acceleration suggests that Tanzania has evolved from an emerging crypto market into one of Africa's most active consumer ecosystems for digital assets.
Kenya has also strengthened its position, with ownership increasing from 7% to 11%, making it the second-largest crypto ownership market in the study. The country's continued growth reinforces its reputation as one of Africa's leading fintech ecosystems, where high mobile money penetration and digital financial innovation continue to support broader cryptocurrency adoption.
In contrast, some markets that previously led adoption have experienced slower momentum. Ghana, which recorded the continent's highest ownership level in 2022 at 15%, declined to 7% in 2026, while Nigeria fell from 8% to 5%. Although both remain strategically important crypto markets due to their large populations and mature digital finance sectors, the findings suggest that consumer ownership has become more geographically diversified rather than concentrated in a handful of traditional leaders. Regulatory conditions may also be influencing how these markets evolve. In Ghana, regulatory warnings have highlighted the lack of legal protection for consumers using unlicensed cryptocurrency platforms, while Nigeria has moved toward tighter oversight of crypto exchanges and taxation of crypto trading profits. These developments add complexity for consumers and businesses operating in markets that have historically been important to Africa's crypto ecosystem.
Elsewhere, adoption remains comparatively modest. South Africa more than doubled ownership from 1% to 3%, while the Democratic Republic of Congo increased from 0% to 2%. Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Uganda recorded slight declines, highlighting that crypto adoption across Africa is progressing at different speeds depending on local market dynamics, regulation and consumer readiness. In Uganda, warnings from the central bank around cryptocurrency and mobile-money conversions, alongside past crypto-related scams, may contribute to consumer caution. Similarly, in Côte d'Ivoire, regulatory warnings around fraud, money laundering and market volatility, combined with limited consumer protection and crypto literacy, present additional barriers to adoption. For businesses entering these markets, understanding the regulatory environment and building consumer trust will therefore be as important as identifying underlying demand.
While cryptocurrency ownership varies significantly across African markets, Bitcoin remains the continent's undisputed market leader, owned by 55% of cryptocurrency users overall. It is the most widely held cryptocurrency in almost every surveyed country, demonstrating that despite the emergence of thousands of digital assets globally, Bitcoin continues to serve as Africa's primary gateway into cryptocurrency investing.
Bitcoin's dominance is particularly pronounced in Kenya (76%), South Africa (73%), and Tanzania (66%), indicating that consumers in these markets continue to prioritize established, globally recognised cryptocurrencies over newer alternatives. This suggests higher levels of trust in Bitcoin as a long-term store of value compared to more speculative digital assets.
However, the data also reveals that competition beyond Bitcoin varies considerably by country. Binance Coin ranks as Africa's second most-owned cryptocurrency overall (32%), with especially strong ownership in South Africa (50%), Kenya (47%) and Nigeria (44%). This reflects the growing influence of exchange ecosystems, where consumers are increasingly adopting platform-native tokens alongside mainstream cryptocurrencies.
Nigeria stands out as Africa's most diversified cryptocurrency market. Unlike most countries where Bitcoin clearly dominates, Nigerian consumers show relatively high ownership across multiple assets, including OneCoin (48%), Ethereum (46%), Binance Coin (44%), Bitcoin (39%), XRP (39%), Solana (39%) and Dogecoin (35%). This broader distribution suggests that Nigerian crypto users are more willing to diversify their portfolios and explore alternative digital assets compared to consumers elsewhere on the continent.
The findings also highlight emerging opportunities for newer blockchain ecosystems. Ethereum enjoys particularly strong ownership in Nigeria and Tanzania, while Solana has established meaningful penetration in Ivory Coast, Uganda and Nigeria. Meanwhile, Dogecoin continues to attract notable interest in Uganda, demonstrating that consumer appetite extends beyond traditional investment-focused cryptocurrencies into community-driven digital assets.
Overall, the findings reinforce that although Bitcoin remains the continent's anchor cryptocurrency, Africa is far from being a single crypto market. Each country exhibits distinct ownership patterns that reflect varying levels of market maturity, consumer awareness, exchange presence and local investment behaviour.
As cryptocurrency adoption evolves across Africa, the opportunity is becoming increasingly market-specific rather than continental. Tanzania's rapid growth, Kenya's expanding ownership and Nigeria's diversified crypto portfolios demonstrate that each market presents a distinct opportunity. For cryptocurrency exchanges, fintech companies, blockchain businesses and financial institutions, success will depend on understanding where adoption is strongest and aligning expansion, product positioning and partnerships to local market realities.
Rather than applying a one-size-fits-all strategy, businesses should tailor wallet features, supported cryptocurrencies, educational campaigns and customer acquisition efforts to each country's ownership patterns and asset preferences. Organisations that use consumer intelligence to identify where ownership is growing and which cryptocurrencies consumers trust will be better positioned to prioritise investment, accelerate market entry and build a sustainable competitive advantage across Africa.
Kasi Insight is Africa's leading decision intelligence firm specializing in high-frequency consumer and economic data across Africa. Through its proprietary survey infrastructure and analytics platform, Kasi provides real-time insights that help organizations anticipate economic shifts, understand consumer behavior, and make better strategic decisions.
We welcome collaboration with:
Organizations interested in exploring partnerships or accessing Kasi datasets are invited to contact our research team.
📧 yannick@kasiinsight.com
Chijuka, I. M., & Imoseme, M. I. (2025). The impact of Nigeria cryptocurrency ban on capital flows: A secondary data analysis. African Banking and Finance Review Journal (ABFRJ), 20(3).
Coinstick. (2026, July 15). How to trade crypto in Nigeria in 2026: Platforms, P2P risk, and what changed. Coinstick Blog. https://www.coinstick.co/blog/how-to-trade-crypto-in-nigeria-in-2026-platforms-p2p-risk-and-what-changed,.
UPay. (2026, January 8). Crypto adoption around the world: Côte d'Ivoire. UPay Blog. https://blog.upay.com/crypto-adoption/cote-divoire/
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