Ghana has been ranked 4th in Africa in the 2021 World Cryptocurrency Index.
The report by block chain company, Triple A, showed that close to a million Ghanaians owned a cryptocurrency in 2021.
The report attributed the surge in Ghana’s crypto volumes to the country’s tacit endorsement of cryptocurrencies.
For instance, the report pointed to the Central Bank of Ghana’s launch of “a regulatory sandbox that prioritized block chain-based companies including cryptocurrency startups” as one factor that may have boosted the country’s volumes.
Speaking to Charles Ayitey on the Market Place, Research and Development Economist based in Nigeria, Gospel Obele, projected more growth in cryptocurrency transactions in the months ahead amid high inflation and the thirst for a stable and decentralised investment market by millennials’.
“This should tell you that Ghana and the rest of Africa is ready for a new payment pool as a plan B to the growing economic instability.”
Threats of fiat currency to a single regional currency
Nigeria and Ghana are racing to adopt a central bank digital currency as they look to erode the popularity of cryptocurrencies in West Africa’s two largest economies.
Central banks in both countries have partnered with foreign financial tech companies to create digital versions of their currencies, joining the global train of countries exploring the initiative.
Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, will launch its eNaira digital currency on October 1, while Ghana is in trial of the e-Cedi.
“The current monetary and financial system in various countries differ. That may affect the level of alignment for a single currency. So indeed, these centralized currencies could diminish gains made, if any, in achieved a single currency,” Economist Obele stated.
Only four African countries – Kenya (8.52%), South Africa (7.11%), Nigeria (6.31%), and Ghana (3.01%) — have higher proportions of their respective populations that own crypto.
