Table of Contents
TL;DR,
- Africa hit $25B in on-chain transactions in March as blockchain in africa accelerates low-fee, transparent remittances and access despite infrastructure gaps.
- Stablecoins like RLUSD, CBDCs such as eNaira, and a $15M Lisk fund are delivering faster settlements, inflation protection, and real inclusion across key markets.
- Regulators are adding licensing and taxes while AI tools simplify self-custody, moving crypto from speculation to practical finance for migrants, farmers, and SMEs.
Africa’s financial systems have long operated under constraints from established networks, including slow remittances with fees up to 10 percent, limited visibility in correspondent banking that affects migrant workers, and structures that exclude large unbanked groups. The rising preference for stablecoins for cross-border payments now meets a challenge.
In a region where more than 600 million people lack consistent electricity, and internet access remains uneven, blockchain in Africa functions as a means to enable financial independence. State-backed digital currencies, rising stablecoin use, and investment funds supporting Web3 projects show that the technology has shifted into solving core local issues.
It now addresses core elements of money issuance, which have typically benefited large banks at the expense of ordinary people. Bitcoin’s approach to decentralization finds ground here, with Africa’s cryptocurrency activity reaching 25 billion dollars in on-chain transactions in March, pointing to a move away from these limitations and toward systems that support faster, lower-cost, and clearer transfers for over a billion residents.
This development aligns with wider changes, similar to how established payment networks like SWIFT incorporate blockchain for international efficiency. In African countries, stablecoins and central bank digital currencies serve as issuance methods defined by algorithms, originating in software rather than debt-based cycles.
They spread control beyond the concentration held by private banks. In expanding economies such as Nigeria and Ghana, where long-term debt patterns build and conventional finance tightens in uncertain periods, blockchain in Africa provides stability. It acts as a form of digital reserve currency for those working abroad, with settlements in minutes and no hidden steps among intermediaries.
Solution 1: State-Backed Digital Currencies vs. The Remittance Tax
Africa advances in central bank digital currencies, combining official oversight with blockchain’s clarity to address remittances and access to finance. Nigeria’s eNaira, introduced in 2021 as the first such currency on the continent, connects to 33 commercial banks for transactions through applications, fixed at a one-to-one ratio with the naira. Adoption, however, has progressed slowly.
The issue stems from insufficient explanation of blockchain concepts to involved parties, as economist Chuta Chimezie points out:
“You can’t introduce a product to stakeholders who don’t know what a blockchain is.”
Current reviews indicate problems with the eNaira Speed Wallet application’s downloads and verification codes, which highlight broader issues such as inconsistent power supply impacting 83 percent of the unelectrified population in sub-Saharan Africa.
Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Rwanda, South Africa, and Tunisia continue evaluations, focusing on designs that work offline for users with basic phones. These aim to cut remittance expenses, which often surpass 10 percent through services like Western Union, and support welfare payments with minimal costs. A similar approach to a stablecoin for cross-border payments.
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ODI Global points out that central bank digital currencies could provide financial services to those without bank accounts, and advisor Tope Fasua sees them as a direct method to reduce differences in informal exchange markets.
Risks exist, however. Dr. Tapiwa Mashakada cautions that blockchain’s unregulated aspects resemble schemes where poor choices lead to losses. With features like connections to open networks, such as Bitcoin’s Lightning Network, these currencies might develop from surface-level changes into effective ways to vary the money supply, avoiding the funding shortages common in traditional currencies.
Solution 2: The RLUSD Stablecoin Shield Against Inflation and Slow Transfers
Stablecoins provide a direct response to the weaknesses in conventional finance. Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin, launched on December 17, 2024, illustrates this adjustment by supporting payments that resist inflation in areas where standard channels struggle. Through partnerships with Chipper Cash, VALR, and Yellow Card, RLUSD reduces remittance charges and allows immediate management of funds for businesses.
A project in Kenya with Mercy Corps Ventures uses blockchain to release insurance for farmers affected by weather, with payments in real time rather than days. Gideon Greaves from Lisk notes in a related context that these instruments address actual needs with practical benefits, distinct from market speculation.
In contrast to SWIFT’s delays of two to five business days and costs of over 10 percent in certain routes, RLUSD offers fees close to zero and complete visibility, similar to tracking a shipment. This establishes it as a fast-moving form of supplementary currency. Stablecoin activity matched Visa’s 11 trillion dollars in 2024, and Africa’s increase confirms a larger adjustment: creation through programming, not borrowing.
This supports economic tasks without the feedback loops of secured lending. A worker sending 300 dollars home sees charges drop from 30 to 40 dollars to fractions of a cent. Small agricultural firms receive payments in minutes, extending access to many excluded by high fees. In Nigeria, many monitor the USDT to naira rate, preserving value before sending funds.
Questions around oversight continue, but the durability of the RLUSD stablecoin suggests that stablecoins pair with Bitcoin in the set of tools for financial sovereignty. It also plays a vital role in propelling the prevalence of blockchain in Africa.
Solution 3: Closing the Capital Gap with Lisk $15M Empower Fund
Investment in ventures often focuses on high-risk bets, missing Africa’s steady growth in Web3. Lisk’s 15 million dollar EMpower Fund changes this approach. It supports projects in payments, remittances, identity, and supply chains across Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia, providing up to 250,000 dollars per company along with guidance on operations and regulations.
Initial investments cover South Africa’s Lov.cash for digitized supply lines and Afrikabal’s farming technology. Gold-supported loans on chain through SigraFi demonstrate the fund’s strength in representing physical assets digitally.
Chief operating officer Dominic Schwenter states, “Emerging markets are no longer the future of Web3, they are the present.” Greaves adds that utility-focused creators within these web3 startups will produce the major successes.
This differs from support for large institutions at risk of failure. It lowers barriers for distributed systems builders and may lead to finance protocols that generate funds from assets with limited backing in Africa.
In environments where debt relative to output climbs, in line with Ray Dalio’s view of an approaching long-term shift, these investments spread out issuance options. They help avoid funding squeezes by promoting growth based on chain activity.
Oversight Adjustments: Taxes and Events Indicate Progress
As blockchain in Africa evolves, authorities are responding with regulatory measures. In Ghana, Binance’s sponsorship of the Accra Fintech Summit from October 8-10 underscores industry engagement as the country now requires crypto exchanges to be licensed by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In Kenya, its latest Virtual Assets Service Providers Bill has been passed by parliament and is awaiting presidential assent as of October 2025. South Africa, with its mature regulatory environment, mandates that cryptocurrency earnings be reported to the South African Revenue Service, with gains subject to Capital Gains Tax. Concurrently, financial services firm Sygnia promotes Bitcoin exchange-traded funds as buffers against price volatility.
Nigeria is also structuring its sector with rules for 2026, including a tax framework where individuals pay taxes on crypto profits only if their total annual income exceeds 800,000 naira. A Value-Added Tax applies specifically to the sale of crypto for the local currency, targeting the transaction profit rather than the holdings themselves. These evolving measures across the continent aim to build structure, limit fraud, and direct activity into approved, regulated channels.
The Usability Leap: How AI is Unlocking Blockchain for the Masses
Instruments such as Hey ElsaAI advance this by combining artificial intelligence with blockchain for simpler finance applications. According to its website, the AI carries out tasks, converting spoken instructions to contract executions: a request to place ETH in a pool leads to immediate returns, connecting networks without complications.
For users in Africa facing interface challenges, this tool expands participation by handling international exchanges and returns automatically, in key areas dependent on transfers. Initial users note its reliability, suggesting wider finance applications where self-managed wallets avoid institutional controls and create stablecoins from holdings without verification requirements.
Redesigning Finance from the Ground Up With Blockchain in Africa
Blockchain in Africa involves more than adjustments. It represents a basic change, spreading money creation from the intricate networks of banks, described as too involved to resolve, to open and rule-based systems.
Established setups, subject to expansion and contraction with reliance on rescues, encounter replacement as stablecoins exceed Visa volumes and central bank digital currencies connect underserved groups. Bitcoin’s work-based validation provides a base here, serving as protection in unstable areas, as investments like Lisk’s support further steps.
Issues persist: sudden infrastructure failures, enclosed regulatory approaches, and balances between data protection and compliance checks. The European Central Bank’s digital euro, delayed to 2029 with limits and verification demands, trails behind. Africa’s flexible tests, including redeemable stablecoins and digitized farm financing, set the direction.
The context of blockchain in Africa revolves mainly around fintech. Remittances play a big role; however, recent data shows that startups are emerging from every corner. Prime examples include: Dimitra in agriculture, Sabi in supply chain and AID:Tech in healthcare.
