Crypto brokerage firm Blockchain.com is expanding its operations to Ghana as part of a broader push to raise its presence in Africa, following rapid user growth in Nigeria over the past year.
The company said it plans to offer Ghanaian users access to its trading platform as it develops regional infrastructure and explores additional African markets.
The expansion follows powerful growth in Nigeria, where the company launched retail operations last year and has seen over 700% growth in brokerage transaction volume. According to the company, the most frequently traded assets on its platform in the country are Bitcoin (BTC), Tether (USDT) and Tron (TRX).
Business he said Ghana has also seen increasing activity on its platform ahead of its formal launch, with the number of energetic users increasing by 140% over the past year and transaction volumes increasing by 80%.
“We are actively working with Ghanaian officials and regulators to help build the regulatory framework and have already established a local compliance representative office in Ghana,” a Blockchain.com spokesperson said.
The company said expanding its local payment infrastructure will be critical as it enters the Ghanaian market. “Given how widely mobile money is used in Ghana, integration with the mobile money ecosystem is a key issue,” a spokesperson told Cointelegraph.
Blockchain.com says it is building local teams to support operations, partnerships and regulatory engagement as it expands across the region. The company already operates in over 70 jurisdictions around the world and plans to expand into additional African markets as part of its long-term growth strategy.
Data from Chainalytic shows that Nigeria consistently ranks among the top countries in the world for grassroots cryptocurrency adoption, with activity driven by remittances, currency volatility and a gigantic mobile-first user base.
Founded in 2011 and based in London, Blockchain.com is a cryptocurrency platform that offers trading services, digital asset wallets and other crypto infrastructure to users around the world.
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Cryptocurrency adoption is growing in sub-Saharan Africa
In recent years, the utilize of cryptocurrencies has grown rapidly in sub-Saharan Africa. According to a September study, the value of onchain cryptocurrencies exceeded $205 billion, an raise of 52% compared to the previous year, making it the third fastest growing cryptocurrency market in the world. report from Chainalytica.
Nigeria dominates crypto activity, receiving over $92 billion during this period. The next largest markets include South Africa, Ethiopia, Kenya and Ghana. Analysts say demand is often driven by cross-border payments, remittances and efforts to hedge against currency volatility.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos in January, former UN Under-Secretary-General Vera Songwe said stablecoins are increasingly used for remittances and cross-border payments. She said conventional money transfers often cost about $6 for every $100 sent, while stablecoins can lower fees and settle transactions in minutes.
Songwe added that persistent inflation in several African economies and circumscribed access to banking services are also pushing more users towards digital dollar alternatives.
Earlier this month, Africa Bitcoin Corporation executive chairman Stafford Masie said that in some African communities, Bitcoin functions more as everyday money rather than primarily as a store of value. On the Coin Stories podcast with Natalie Brunell, Masie said that some merchants operating in local circular economies accept payments in satoshi instead of fiat currencies.
Meanwhile, in February, Africa recorded the highest average stablecoin-to-fiat conversion spreads among monitored regions, according to data from payments infrastructure firm Borderless.xyz.
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