Yellow Card, Africa’s leading stablecoin infrastructure provider,
has released its latest report on digital asset adoption in emerging markets,
highlighting the impact of stablecoins in both personal and business finance.
In sub-Saharan Africa, adoption is growing, with Kenya among the
countries seeing significant growth alongside Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana,
Zambia, Ethiopia, and Uganda.
Stablecoins accounted for 43% of
total crypto transaction volume in 2024 in sub-Saharan Africa. Nigeria,
Africa’s largest stablecoin market, recorded nearly $22 billion in transactions
between July 2023 and June 2024, while South Africa experienced a 50%
month-over-month growth since October 2023, displacing bitcoin as the country’s
most popular cryptocurrency.
Sharon Tum, Yellow Card’s Regional
Manager for East Africa observes that stablecoins adoption in East
Africa is shifting from hype to utility. “Stablecoin adoption is accelerating
among businesses for three clear reasons: faster cross-border settlements,
reduced FX costs, and hedging against currency volatility. Many Companies are
using stablecoins to pay suppliers and receive international payments in
minutes instead of days - often at a fraction of traditional banking fees. This
isn’t speculative use; it’s a practical tool for improving cash flow and cross
border trade.”
According to the report, the last first five years have seen the stablecoin
market cap rise significantly. At the start of 2020, the total stablecoin
market cap was $5 billion. This peaked in 2021 growing to $181.7 billion in
March 2022, following the surge in demand for digital assets. There was however
a temporary decline in 2022 after the collapse of Terra’s UST stablecoin but a
recovery was made in 2023 reaching $119.1 billion. The market cap grew by $73.5B to $161.2B in
2024 and by May 2025, the market cap was $230 billion. This year, the transaction
value of stablecoins hit $15.6 trillion, roughly 119% and 200% that of Visa and
Mastercard, respectively, with the number of transactions reaching 110 million
monthly.
Across Yellow Card’s platform,
stablecoins accounted for over 90% of total transaction volume in 2022 and
2023, and now represent 99% of the company’s business. USDT remains dominant,
with 88.5% of transaction share and 85.4% of USD volume, followed by USDC with
9.9% of transaction share and 14.5% of USD volume. PYUSD usage was
significantly lower, at 0.9% of transaction share and 0.1% of USD volume. Yellow
Card’s analysis on stablecoin adoption reveals that while 70 percent of
stablecoin customers are focused on personal needs such as remittances and
savings, a growing 30 percent use stablecoins specifically for business
operations.
As the reliance of stablecoins increases, so does the number of use
cases. In 2024, corporate transactions using stablecoins increased by 25%,
particularly in cross-border payments and supply chain settlements. Beyond
payments, payroll has been another area in which businesses have been able to
capitalise on the benefits stablecoins have to offer
Peter Mwangi, Yellow Card Country
Manager, Kenya commented that Stablecoin adoption is growing in Kenya, driven
by economic challenges like inflation and currency depreciation. “The country’s
strong mobile money infrastructure, especially M-Pesa, allows for easy
stablecoin integration. A tech-savvy youth population also uses stablecoins for
lower remittance fees and protection against currency volatility, making them
practical financial tools.”
As adoption accelerates, stablecoins are poised to play an
increasingly critical role in both local and global financial systems. Currently,
governments are in various stages of establishing regulatory frameworks in Africa with divergent approaches
regarding anti-money laundering (AML)
and counter-financing of terrorism
(CFT) rules. In addition, Governments are also evaluating how to tax
digital assets and generate new revenue streams.
