The rise in adoption and support for cryptocurrencies has been significant in a number of countries relative to other global locations. It turns out that the growth has been influenced by reliance on remittances and occurrence of a high frequency of peer-to-peer mobile crypto payments.
Africa and Southeast Asia appear to be top destinations where crypto was supported in the year 2020. Apart from the two regions, Latin America ranked high among the global destinations where people interact with virtual currency every day.
On adoption, Peru accounts for the majority of people who use cryptocurrency on the regular. Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Mexico and Chile were also part of the big crypto supporters according to last year’s studies.
In Europe, Switzerland recorded the highest adoption rate in line with Greece. Overall, Europe and the Anglo nations accounted for the least numbers of adoption as far as crypto support and integration is concerned.
Importantly, Japan seemed to be the least crypto-friendly nation in the world, with the least number of people reporting that they ever used or owned cryptocurrency. Experts found out that only 4 percent of Japanese respondents admitted their experience with virtual assets.
Nigeria Tops the List
According to a 2020 global consumer survey, Nigeria topped the list of 74 countries whose study respondents reported that they have used or owned cryptocurrencies. Researchers learnt that a third of Nigerians preferred crypto as a cheap money transfer option.
Figure 1: List of top supporters of cryptocurrency in 2020 (Source: Statista Global Consumer Survey).
The relatively steep fees required to transfer money across borders through traditional financial methods is what has encouraged a large number of people living in one of Africa’s top economy to adopt digital assets – overseas workers and their families are connected by local crypto exchanges.
As reported by Bitcoin.com, Nigerians have a high affinity for mobile money platforms, which are considered a convenient was to shop and exchange funds. Observers have also noted a recent rise in support for digital assets by Nigerian businesses that have been adding crypto plugins to their mobile payment options.
Vietnam and Philippines
The country that came in second place was Vietnam. Case in point, the Vietnamese start-up mobile game Axie Infinity presented a classic example of how cryptocurrency can be integrated into daily normal life.
In the game, players are required to grow, battle and exchange “pet monsters” while gathering money through a digital wallet. The game gained popularity to become an innovative source of income for Filipinos that had lost their jobs at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, or were living in isolation due to government restrictions.
Reportedly, a number of players advanced their skills to the extent of earning as much as Php 10,000 every week. Considering that close to 10,000 Filipinos play Axie Infinity every day, it becomes clear that crypto usage in the country is very high.
The decision by Filipino stakeholders to invite more citizens to adopt cryptocurrency can be seen in recent events involving the country’s Central Bank, which has since approved a host of crypto exchanges to operate in the country.
In addition, UBX Philippines, the fintech arm of UnionBank, has been working to make digital currency and blockchain technology accessible and useful to the financial supply chain through the Philippines’ first crypto ATM.
While the move is aimed towards mainstreaming virtual currencies, the bank’s stablecoin PHX is reported to have played a key role in enabling remittances from abroad to financial entities within the country’s grassroots.
According to expert predictions, the country will witness a tenfold increase in adoption of the stablecoin by the year 2022, with the occurrence of 2021’s robust national frameworks expected to safeguard users against possible risks in the crypto industry
