One of the most important developments in the crypto world is happening in markets that are not considered important by many standards. Sub-Saharan Africa and South America are increasing crypto trading volumes each month with more locals being interested in hedging against their fiat currencies and using crypto due to the inaccessibility of banking.
South America is a very interesting case because some countries are considered more developed than Kenya or Nigeria. Venezuela, Peru, and Argentina are all countries that had massive periods of growth and dwarfed everything that was happening in Africa during the same period.
Venezuelans are interested in Bitcoin
After the devastating economic collapse in Venezuela, citizens of the country started getting into crypto to protect their savings from inflation and economic turmoil. Initially, trading volumes were relatively low with LocalBitcoin indicating a trading volume of about 1,000 per month which is not a lot by any margin. However, the August data was impressive as the country reached 34,000 BTC volume monthly which is an achievement considering the average monthly wage of around $16.
LocalBitcoin is not the only crypto exchange in the country, but other platforms do not make their data public making it hard to analyze what is happening exactly. Binance, for example, is the biggest player in the industry with a 16% market share and thousands of users in Venezuela. It may see even larger volumes that we simply don’t know of.
The desire of Venezuelans to buy more crypto is more than understandable. The same trend is apparent in Peru and Argentina where stablecoins pegged by Sol and Peso respectively are seeing more and more interest from citizens who want to use crypto alongside fiat.
We are on the verge of a big shift
The worldwide trend of adopting crypto is starting to take shape with more countries, especially those with weaker economies, starting to see value in using decentralized, bank-free cryptocurrencies to buy goods and services. Even if Europe, Asia, and North America will continue trying to stop the advent of crypto, the rest of the world will be using cryptocurrencies regardless.