Peer-to-peer Bitcoin (BTC) trading has seen rapid growth in recent months, with the African continent now the second-strongest region in the world for P2P volume behind the U.S.
Africa was the sole region to produce an increase in seven-day P2P trade this past week — with sub-saharan African trade posting its seventh all-time high for weekly trade in nine weeks.
Since early January, the sub-saharan African has overtaken the Asia-Pacific, Eastern European, and Latin American regions to emerge as the second-strongest P2P market by a volume margin of more than 50%.
African P2P trade surges
Data posted to Twitter by crypto analyst Kevin Rooke on June 30 indicated triple-digit P2P activity among Africa’s top P2P markets over just three months, with volume increases of 125% in Nigeria, 194% in South Africa, 199% in Kenya, and 257% in Ghana.
Speaking to Cointelegraph, a spokesperson for top P2P Bitcoin marketplace Paxful noted that in addition to Africa’s top markets, Cameroon has emerged as a “breakout country” with $5 million in volume during 2020 so far.
Paxful attributes the dramatic increase in trade activity to its ethos of staying “connected to the streets” and fostering grassroots communities in developing markets:
“There’s no one catalyst for the recent significant jump in volume, rather it’s a result of a collective effort on the part of our various teams who have enabled us to successfully enter new markets like India and Argentina, build local communities (in Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, etc.) and form new partnerships.”
“With every new market comes an opportunity to improve and we plan to continue to focus on our users' needs as a roadmap for growth,” Paxful added.
US dominates P2P volume
Despite Africa’s meteoric rise, North America has further consolidated its lead in P2P volume with recent all-time highs for weekly trade exceeding $30 million.
Regional P2P trade volume: UsefulTulips
The United States represented $30 million in trade by itself this past week, comprising nearly twice that of the entire continent of Africa. Paxful’s spokesperson noted that California is the strongest U.S. state for P2P trade year-to-date.
Nigeria is the second-strongest national P2P market, representing almost $10 million in weekly trade.