The country with the largest population in Africa seems to be interested in cryptocurrencies comparable to none. Nigeria is well on its way to becoming the epicenter of Bitcoin enthusiasts in Africa, ranking number one in the search rate of Bitcoin by regional Google search volume.

The search volume from five of the leading states begins above 60%. These states include Ekiti, Enugu, Bayelsa, Anambra, and Delta, the leading state with a 100% search rate.

It is interesting to note that the statistics are not very different from the ones recorded in 2020, when Nigeria emerged first in Bitcoin searches, with Delta State staying on the frontline.

Crypto wallet provider, Blockchain.com, in a recent study, has revealed that the highest activities in its app since April have been from the western African country. Blockchain.com data also indicated that there’s been a 60 percent rise in the usage of its wallet in the country since April.

Young Nigerians are Pro-Bitcoin

The interest young Nigerians have in cryptocurrencies has exponentially increased over the years. CEO and founders of some of the country’s largest fintech and cryptocurrency platforms like BuyCoins and Paystack, which was recently acquired by Stripe are aged between 25 to 30, reflecting that the cryptocurrency platforms being leveraged by the population to carry out transactions is being created and used by the young.

Bicoin trading surges after crypto ban

Nigerians increased peer-to-peer trading, at a rate which hit new levels following the crypto ban enforced by the Central Bank of Nigeria to financial institutions who were forced to cut out cryptocurrency platforms or risk being sanctioned.

Nigeria’s peer-to-peer trading volume has surged by 27%, just three months after the announcement of the ban, adding that a total of $103 million have since been moved on LocalBitcoins and Paxful alone.

A large number of cryptocurrency transactions do not make it to exchanges and trading platforms as users are actively searching for a more user friendly platform to aid them in making swift transactions.

Many cryptocurrency buyers and sellers in the country have settled for peer-to-peer trading on social media apps like Telegram, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Infact, it is very likely that the recorded volume of monthly transactions in the country is way higher than is being reported.

Peru is next

After Nigeria showed the most interest in Bitcoin since April, recent data shows that South American country, Peru has clinched top of that list since July. Between July and the first week in this month, data has revealed that Peru, India, Indonesia lead owing to the number of transactions since July.

Other activity countries outside these three are Bulgaria, Bangladesh, Venezuela, among others.

These data are an indication to the continued growth of cryptocurrencies and trading activities across these regions. Yellow Card, a fast-rising crypto firm in Nigeria, reports that there’s a sharp rise in crypto adoption in the country with other African countries having immense potential to be stakeholders in the crypto space.

In April, Nigeria became the 8th country to own a Bitcoin ATM after one was launched in Lagos, the country’s commercial capital.