The report titled ‘Stablecoin Adoption in Emerging Markets’ by Yellow Card notes that Nigeria has outperformed in stablecoin transactions; it processed nearly $23 billion in stablecoin transactions between July 2023 and June 2024.
With this milestone, Nigeria has stood at the top, becoming the largest stablecoin market in Africa. The report underlined that stablecoins account for 43% of the entire crypto transactions volume in Sub-Saharan Africa.
It is worth noting that following the clarity over such products and digital assets in wholesome the adoption, creation, and circulation had grown like never before.
The spike in stablecoin transactions in Nigeria is seen to have been backed by the growing shortage of foreign exchange, volatility of regional currency, and the skyrocketing demand for fast and hassle-free cross-border payments.
Experts in the wider market argue that, hopefully, by the end of this year stablecoin market cap is expected to double from its current capitalization, probably hitting the $600 billion mark.
Nigeria tops SA and Kenya, with others
In Africa, the stablecoins have continued to play a crucial role, marking their penetration in oil, gas, and banking.
The Yellow Card’s report also says that around 70% of users have switched towards stablecoins for their personal usage, including sending money to their homes, and saving yet remaining 30% have integrated it with their businesses.
And in terms of its adoption and usage, Nigeria is topping the list with South Africa, Kenya, and Ghana standing below, but remains pro over the stablecoins.
At a time in 2020, the global stablecoins market was recorded below $5 billion in total value, but over the last three to four years, it’s changed its gears and is now one of the biggest segments after altcoins in the crypto market.
As per the data from CoinMarketCap, the stablecoin market has a capitalization of $295 billion, with expectations to soon break the mark of $300 billion.
In African regions, Yellow Card’s 99% transactions are of stablecoins, with USDT leading the race with 88.5% while USDC remained as 2nd top with nearly 10% of the market.
Yet in terms of supply, authenticity, usage cases, and market capitalization, USDT is the topper, having a market cap of $168 billion, followed by USDC with a cap of $71.65 billion, and USDe having a cap of $12.43 billion.
Since the beginning of this year, top stablecoin issuers have continued to mint and issue more stablecoins. It came following the growing demand for stablecoins in the wider finance market.
