Africa Crypto News Week in Review: Retail Growth, Regulatory Pressure, and the Rise of a New Financial Rail

[Ben Graham]

It’s time for Africa Crypto News Week in Review! This is my first time doing this, so don’t be mad if I’m not as great as 99Bitcoins writers Dalmas Ngetich or editor Sam Cooling. This week, crypto adoption in Sub-Saharan Africa is accelerating at one of the fastest rates in the world, driven by currency instability, retail demand, and the region’s growing adoption of digital settlement rails. Here’s what you need to know:

“Crypto products are structurally designed to outperform traditional finance.” – Christo de Wit, Luno South Africa

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Kenya Crypto Positioning Strengthens: Kenya’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations Completes Week of Crypto Training

(Source)

In a major development for crypto-related law enforcement in Kenya, the country’s leading East African economy, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations has just completed its first-ever week-long training program. The program aims to equip investigative officers from across Africa with the technological literacy and skills needed to pursue crypto-related investigations on-chain.

Bringing together some of the brightest minds in law enforcement from 10 countries took place at the National Crime Investigations Academy, and focused on on-chain forensics, illicit money-trail tracing, and hands-on instruction in planning operations to disrupt criminal money networks leveraging cryptocurrencies.

Abdalla Komesha, Director of the Investigations Bureau at the DCI, hailed the success of the inaugural program, claiming it had strengthened the region’s ability to tackle increasingly sophisticated digital currency offences, alongside thanking EU partners for funding the initiative.

Africa’s Crypto Rebound: What Does Retail Demand and On-Chain Data Tell?

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Sub-Saharan Africa processed more than $205Bn in on-chain value between July 2024 and June 2025, according to data aggregated from Chainalysis and DeFi Llama. That is a 52% jump from the prior year, making SSA the third fastest-growing crypto region globally.

A March 2025 spike to nearly $25 Bn in monthly volume revealed how quickly regional demand responds to macro stress. Nigeria’s currency devaluation sent users scrambling for dollar-pegged stablecoins, producing one of the world’s largest short-term inflows that month.

(Source: Chainalysis)

So far in 2025 retail activity dominates the region’s footprint. Transfers under $10,000 account for over 8% of total value in SSA, compared with 6% elsewhere.

Nigeria and South Africa Crypto Updates? Institutional Rails Are Quietly Expanding

Nigeria leads Africa with $92.1Bn received in 12 months. Its high inflation and restricted FX access make stablecoins a functional alternative, especially for trade flows across the Middle East and Asia. We’re seeing stablecoins do the work nobody talks about, not just in Africa but around the world.

However, tremors continue to rock the Nigerian crypto community ahead of the widely feared Nigeria Tax Administration Act (NTAA), with leaders in the crypto community arguing that the combination of new tax obligations, strict reporting requirements, and lingering regulatory uncertainty may drive users away from licensed exchanges to black-market P2P services.

Meanwhile, in South Africa, a growing roster of licensed providers now provides institutions with the opportunity to develop crypto products in the open. Exchange data shows an uptick in larger trades, deeper liquidity, and arbitrage desks exploiting the FX market.

Best market analysis you'll hear all week. https://t.co/3F8PZOEHDV

— Isaiah McCall (@AfroReporter) March 4, 2025

Despite South Africa’s April 2025 implementation of the Travel Rule, industry executives remain unfazed.

 “Everyone has the option to self-custody, eliminating the need to trust intermediaries,” wrote Farzam Ehsani, Co-Founder and CEO of VALR

What’s Next For Crypto Africa in 2026?

Africa is no longer a peripheral market in crypto but one of the most innovative players. Retail users drive adoption, banks are building the pipes, and regulation is tightening without erasing crypto’s economic advantage.

Europe is clearly behind in Web3, and even America is mostly bark and no bite with Trump overpromising and underdelivering for crypto. Africa is where Web3 is actively being tested.

EXPLORE: Africa Crypto News Week in Review: Ghana Gold Board Exploring Blockchain

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Key Takeaways

• For this week, crypto adoption in Sub-Saharan Africa is accelerating at one of the fastest rates in the world.
• Africa is no longer a peripheral market in crypto but one of the most innovative players.

The post Africa Crypto News Week in Review: Retail Growth, Regulatory Pressure, and the Rise of a New Financial Rail appeared first on 99Bitcoins.