In the year 2021, Morocco, which previously announced measures restricting crypto trading, became North Africa’s leading crypto-trading nation after its peer-to-peer (P2P) trade volumes surged to $6 million.
Morocco in Africa’s Top Four
In 2021, Morocco’s peer-to-peer crypto trade volume of $6 million was enough to see it ranked North Africa’s top cryptocurrency trading nation, according to the latest data from crypto payments company Triplea. The data also shows that only three African countries topped Morocco’s volumes and these include Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya.
In a breakdown of the global peer-to-peer crypto trade statistics, the Triplea research data shows that 2.4% of Morocco’s population, or 878,168 people, owned cryptocurrencies in 2021. Only four African countries — Kenya (8.52%), South Africa (7.11%), Nigeria (6.31%), and Ghana (3.01%) — have higher proportions of their respective populations that own crypto.
As noted in the research report, interest in cryptocurrency in Morocco has been rising despite the country’s standing regulations against crypto trading, which were first announced in 2017.
“Moroccans are open to cryptocurrency, with peer to peer bitcoin trading volumes increasing steadily over the years and reaching record highs of 2.18 million Moroccan Dirham in 2020,” explains the report.
Furthermore, the report notes that the increase in Morocco’s peer-to-peer traded volumes came during a year when the central bank, Bank-Al-Maghrib (BAM), said it would explore the benefits of launching a digital currency.
Ukraine Leads the Pack
Meanwhile, the research platform’s findings show that Ukraine — which has 5,565,881 of its people holding crypto — is the country with the highest concentration of crypto owners globally at 12.73%. Russia is ranked second with 11.91%, Venezuela is in third place with 10.34%, and Kenya is in fourth place.
With respect to overall crypto ownership demographics, Triplea found that 79% of holders are male and 21% are women. Globally, about 58% of cryptocurrency owners were found to be under the age of 34. About 82% have a bachelor’s degree or higher while 36% have an annual income that exceeds US$100,000.
