It’s been a while. Two years, give or take. Life happened, but crypto neither left the headlines, nor our radar. We’ve been watching the space closely, and a lot has gone down (or up!). If you haven’t been keeping your ear to the ground, here’s your no-nonsense recap of what you need to know right now, in Africa.
1. Adoption is still bottom-up and massive
- Nigeria remains a global leader. Chainalysis’ 2024 index put Nigeria #2 worldwide for overall crypto adoption, with ~$59B received between July 2023 and June 2024. FX pressure is definitely to blame here. (Chainalysis)
- Remittances, informal cross-border trade, and value storage still drive usage. But we’ve moved from purely P2P hustle to institutional rails: P2P + licensed platforms + stablecoin on/off-ramps where available. (More on licensing below.)
- Mobile money + crypto = real inclusion. Mobile money remains the continent’s financial backbone; crypto rides alongside it to move value faster/cheaper across borders. (When regulators allow formal connections, adoption jumps.)
2. Regulators finally moved from “ban/tolerate” to “license/monitor”
South Africa (ahead of the pack)
- The FSCA declared crypto a “financial product” (October 2022) and opened licensing for Crypto Asset Service Providers (CASPs). By December 2024, 248 approvals were already issued (out of 420 applications). One of them was our homegrown Kotani Pay! 🎉Translation: real, supervised industry. (Masthead, FSCA, Insurance Biz)
Nigeria (ban era → supervised era)
- CBN formally shifted in late 2023/2024: banks may service Virtual Assets Service Providers (VASPs) under strict rules; the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) keeps tightening oversight (including actions against abusive P2P practices and illegal operators). Expect continued pressure on naira-linked manipulation and more rules for exchanges/wallets. (Central Bank of Nigeria, International Bar Association, Reuters)
Ghana (the big 2025 move)
- From Sept 2025, Ghana plans a full VASP law with licensing, AML/KYC, capital, and consumer-protection requirements. This is timed to bring sizable retail activity (often cited as “millions of users” and multi-billion flows) into the formal system. This aligns Ghana with SA/Nigeria on a compliance path. (LEX Africa, Coinpedia Fintech News, Lightspark)
Kenya (draft stage, but big implications)
- In April 2025, Parliament tabled the Virtual Asset Service Providers Bill, 2025 to license and supervise exchanges, custodians, and other VASPs, with AML/KYC rules, client-asset segregation, cybersecurity standards, and penalties for unlicensed activity. Separately from the Bill, Kenya’s 3% Digital Asset Tax introduced in the Finance Act, 2023 was repealed in the Finance Act, 2025 and replaced with a 10% excise duty on fees/commissions charged by VASPs (effective 1 July 2025). Once enacted, the VASP framework should move Kenya’s mostly P2P market onto compliant rails with clearer consumer protections. Bowmans Law, Digital Policy Alert, Coingeek)
So what?
- If you’re a user: formal licenses = better recourse, fewer rug-pulls. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do your own risk checks. DYOR!
- If you’re a builder/investor: product roadmaps must read compliance first (KYC/AML, segregation of client assets, transparent fees, audits). The era of “launch now, ask later” is over. Africa doesn’t need any more FTX moments.
3. Products got more local
African crypto and payments infrastructure are heating up with real, localized innovations, not just lip service.
Binance (Kenya)
Binance now supports Google Pay for direct crypto purchases, not just P2P M-Pesa and bank transfers. That means users in Kenya can now bypass P2P entirely if they choose.
Tando (Kenya)
Tando lets Kenyan users pay merchants, settle bills, and send remittances using Bitcoin Lightning while recipients receive Kenyan shillings instantly. We haven’t tested it out ourselves, but stay tuned.
Stitch (South Africa)
Stitch has rolled out a “Pay with crypto” feature allowing customers to pay with crypto (e.g., from Binance, VALR, or Luno wallets) at merchants. Businesses receive settlement in ZAR, protecting them from market volatility.
Sling Money (Pan-Africa)
Built on stablecoins and the Solana blockchain, Sling Money enables instant, ultra-low-cost remittances across 140+ countries, including key African markets. Users can send money using just a recipient’s name, relying on stablecoins as the on-rail. No crypto knowledge required.
We attended a Sling Money event late last year, right as the app was launching. It wasn’t working perfectly yet, but what stood out was the founder’s mix of zeal and pragmatism. At one point, he openly acknowledged that the whole project might fail. That was refreshing. Too often, founders enter new markets pretending to have all the answers, only to stumble later. His honesty — that you can be building something potentially transformative while still admitting it might not work — felt quite authentic.
What to watch next (builders & power users):
- Stablecoin off-ramps into mobile money (where compliant).
- FX-aware pricing and transparent spreads (no hidden slippage).
- Local custody/segregation standards that match FSCA/CBN/BoG expectations.
Market Section: Price & Flows
Snapshot
Believe it or not, the last time we were here two years ago, BTC was at 35K. Yep.
Quick read (as of Sep 1, 2025, Africa/Nairobi):
- BTC ~ $109k. Macro (rates, liquidity) + ETF flows remain the main global drivers. In Africa, policy news (e.g., Ghana licensing timeline; Nigeria enforcement on naira-linked trades) typically shows up as short-term volume spikes more than long-term price trend shifts.
- ETH ~ $4.4k. Network fundamentals (L2 activity, restaking, tokenization pilots) matter, but for African users the bigger lever is on/off-ramp quality and cost. This means the spreads, fees, and speed into local currency.
- Stablecoins: expect steady African demand during FX stress. Liquidity improves when licensed entities list compliant stablecoin pairs, aiding price discovery and reducing reliance on opaque P2P spreads.
Final word
We’re back to decode crypto for Africa. Practical. Compliant. Context-first. See you next week!