While as much as 66% of surveyed African residents claimed to have been exposed to digital assets like bitcoin, about 82% of respondents said they have never owned crypto. The findings of the survey study suggest that the adoption of crypto is more significant in poorer African countries than in better-off countries like Kenya and South Africa.

Poor Nations Africa’s Leading Crypto Countries

According to a study by Kasi Insights, a Kenyan research firm, as much as 82% of surveyed Africans have never owned crypto. Of the remaining 18%, only 8% of the respondents admitted to being holders of digital assets such as bitcoin. In contrast, as much as 66% of the respondents said they have been exposed to crypto. However, only 8% said they had “a considerable amount of exposure to crypto.”

As noted by the authors of the report, these and other findings appear to undercut the belief that residents of the African continent have largely embraced and adopted crypto. In some cases, the findings also appear to debunk popular beliefs about the extent of adoption and the African continent’s leading crypto countries. To illustrate, the report points to the different crypto adoption levels seen in different countries.

“Kenya, while often dubbed the ‘Silicon Valley of Africa,’ isn’t as prominent a participant in the African crypto market, and neither is South Africa. Instead, we’ve seen that poorer countries have higher adoption, awareness, and usage, as shown by Namibia and Angola,” the report said.

Government Support Key to Adoption

The findings of the survey, which was carried out in 19 African countries, also appear to suggest that government support or endorsement is needed if the mass adoption goal for crypto is to be achieved. The report also urged crypto market participants to “consider developing relationships with local authorities to generate more awareness and influence favourable regulation.”

Concerning the demographics of African crypto users, the study findings show millennials leading the pack with 60% while the baby boomer generation accounts for just one percent of the African continent’s crypto investors. The survey data also shows that men account for 54% of African investors.

Meanwhile, when asked why they invested in digital assets, a third of the crypto investors said they did it so they can “make money quickly.” Approximately 28% of the respondents said they became crypto investors because they wanted to diversify their portfolios while 17% only did so because they did not want to miss the opportunity.

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