Cryptocurrency continues to grow worldwide as an acceptable payment for groceries, vehicles, and even land properties. Its greatest milestone yet is being accepted as a legal tender by the Republic of El Salvador. Although it is not regulated at the same level in other countries, it still sees huge trade volumes in North America, Europe, and Africa. Kenya is no exception as it is considered one of the biggest markets in the world.
Kenya’s general view over virtual assets
Kenyan citizens participate in international crypto trading. Local businesses welcome Bitcoin payment from customers abroad thanks to the blockchain’s peer-to-peer payment system. There are also plenty of resources to learn about decentralized finance (DeFi) in the region which they share with Nigeria and South Africa.
Although Kenyans are active traders of all types of crypto today, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) announced its stance about the matter in 2015. They advise against using virtual currencies because it is not regulated in the country. It means that users cannot be protected from fraud or if the market fails in the future.
Despite this, Kenyans continue to trade over international exchanges. They are also interested in Ethereum, Tron and Dogecoin blog articles to expand their portfolio. However, the announcement from CBK hinders the further growth of crypto in the country.
Much of the population abstain from accepting Bitcoin or other virtual money for domestic trades. Due to this, properties can only be bought with Kenyan shillings. People can still possess and trade virtual money as mentioned. Mining is also tolerated in the country as the CBK has no interest in interfering with the practice.
Popular crypto among Kenyans
Kenyans can trade in almost every virtual asset from any exchange that they can access from their IP address. Bitcoin is among the most popular followed by Ethereum. Other options include Tether, Tron, and Dogecoin thanks to Kenya’s business arrangement with clients from abroad. Here are some example uses of the asset and ways to get them in Kenya.
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Tether (USDT)
It is not easy to buy any cryptocurrency directly with Kenyan shillings due to a lack of support from the local central bank. Likewise, local payment methods have limited support for exchanges based from outside the country. The most popular workaround for this situation is the USDT. Kenyans can buy it thanks to supporting from international payment methods such as Skrill and Neteller. This currency is popular in the country as the acceptable borderless mode of payment to invest in another crypto.
Bitcoin (BTC)
Bitcoin has a more versatile use in Kenya thanks to being the world’s leading crypto in global adoption. Its popularity encouraged so many private organizations to open opportunities to provide means to trade BTC for Kenyan shillings locally. As a result, Kenyans have the means to buy BTC at a cheaper rate and very low fees. Some goods and services can be paid for in BTC but such arrangements are not overseen by the local government. It has to be an arrangement that is exclusively between the two parties with no protection from local authorities.
Ethereum (ETH)
Ethereum is growing steadily in the Kenyan market at the same rate as in other regions thanks to the apps and other networks that it supports. Decentralized exchanges are also polished to be more user-friendly than ever so it’s easier and cheaper than in private exchanges. On top of that, play-to-earn games and non-fungible tokens blew up in 2021 which further incited a huge surge of users.
Kenyan crypto investors are always on the lookout for updates. Tether and Bitcoin-related news are often the most searched but Ethereum, Tron, and Dogecoin blog news are also becoming popular. The market is expected to continue growing in Africa as all virtual assets are expected to reach new all-time highs. Stay tuned for the growth of the market but also pay attention to the CBK’s announcements because their stance can have a huge impact on the prices.