Sub-Saharan Africa is the third-fastest growing region for crypto adoption, according to a new report from blockchain data platform Chainalysis. The report underscores the region’s emphasis on real-world crypto use cases in the face of currency devaluation, lack of traditional finance rails and other challenges.

According to the report, Sub-Saharan Africa received $205 billion in onchain value between July 2024 and June 2025. This onchain value received is up 52% compared to the previous reporting period and makes the region the third-fastest growing for crypto adoption, behind Asia-Pacific and Latin America.

Monthly crypto value received in Sub-Saharan Africa. Source: Chainalysis

This reporting period, the region saw growth in institutional adoption, led by stablecoin flows, which are accounting for million-dollar transactions between Africa, the Middle East and Asia. In Sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria led the way for institutional momentum, receiving $92.1 billion in value over the 12 months.

“Nigeria’s scale is tied not only to its population and tech-savvy youth, but also to persistent inflation and foreign currency access issues that have made stablecoins an attractive alternative,” Chainalysis wrote.

However, according to the company, South Africa’s advanced regulatory framework has fostered a strong institutional crypto market. Institutional players are now moving from exploration to custody and other product offerings.

Retail adoption based on real-world use cases

Chainalysis’s report notes that retail crypto use in Sub-Saharan Africa has outpaced that in other regions. During the reporting period, over 8% of all crypto transfers were for $10,000 or less, compared to 6% of transfers in the rest of the world.

Sub-Saharan Africa, like many regions full of developing countries, faces challenges that make it well-suited for crypto adoption: an unbanked population that doesn’t have access to traditional financial services, local fiat currencies that devalue quickly or persistently high inflation, and a shortage of dollars that may make US-pegged stablecoins more attractive.

Referencing its previous report covering July 2023 to June 2024, Chainalysis analysts told Cointelegraph that stablecoin adoption in the region pointed to direct devaluation of local fiat currency. Finding dollars had become difficult during that period, making stablecoins attractive and contributing to their 43% share of all crypto transaction volume.

The financial environment in the region may be causing it to deviate from other regions, pushing more real-world crypto use cases compared to a focus on yield or as an investment instrument.

StarkWare co-founder and CEO Eli Ben-Sasson wrote that Africa, with its unique challenges, is key to crypto mass adoption. Blockchain technology is being used in Africa for energy insecurity, among other issues beyond finance.