Cryptocurrency trends in SA & Beyond With the Rand depreciating, South Africa is increasingly turning to crypto.
Susan Symondson identifies trends in the South African crypto-spere.
Bitcoin is taking over the world,
and South Africans are jumping on the bandwagon— by the millions. According to Google trend data,
South Africans are very curious about crypto. When comparing the search data, South Africa is ranked eighth
globally, and second on the African
continent behind Nigeria. And what about actual investing?
A recent study shows South Africa has the second-largest bitcoin-investing population in the world—an estimated 15 per cent, ranking ahead of the U.S. and Japan. So who is leading the charge into the crypto space? The younger
generation, striving to help offset the depreciation of the Rand while trying
to circumvent the highly concentrated traditional financial institutions with their high costs.
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MILLENNIALS AND GEN Z ARE LEADING THE PACK The world of blockchain, decentralised
The younger generations are typically the ones to bring about change.
finance, and cryptocurrency can be
“As we’ve seen for centuries, those
technology continues to advance, it can
typically the younger generation,”
those not considered “digital natives,”
anyone that we are also the
on the internet. So it is unsurprising
institutions and the way we invest.”
millennials, digital immigrants, and
BANKING THE UNBANKED
natives, Generation Z.
struggled to properly service low-
South Africa’s cryptocurrency trading
and the poor because of the high costs
age of 50, and nearly 40 per cent of
Africans do not have a bank account.
under the age of 29. That will change,
them have a market excess of 80 per
the crypto-sphere. Jonathan Ovadia,
bring banking opportunities to those
incredibly intimidating for many. As
looking to bring about change are
sometimes feel confusing and foreign to
says Ovadia. “It shouldn’t surprise
or the generation that grew up raised
ones looking to change financial
that crypto is more popular among of course, the generation of digital
Traditional financial institutions have income earners, micro-entrepreneurs
is dominated by people under the
involved. Nearly a quarter of all South
transactions are executed by people
The Big Four banks, which between
however, as people of all ages join
cent, are putting forth initiatives to
the CEO of Ovex, a Bitcoin and
previously left out.
that this trend isn’t out of the ordinary.
But it’s not enough.
cryptocurrency exchange, explains