Chainalysis says Sub-Saharan Africa was the fastest-growing crypto market

Chainalysis said in its 2026 Geography of Crypto Report that Sub-Saharan Africa, while still the smallest crypto market globally by size, posted the fastest growth rate in the world during the period from July 2025 to June 2026. The report put the region’s market size at $101 billion and said annualized growth reached 13.4%. South Africa and Nigeria accounted for more than three-quarters of all transaction activity in the region, according to the report. South Africa’s crypto economy rose 52% year over year to $39.3 billion, with strong growth in business payment use cases and cross-border stablecoin flows. Chainalysis described the country as a regional crypto hub linking neighboring markets. Nigeria’s crypto market reached $38.1 billion. The report said the country ranked third globally in grassroots adoption. It also said local exchanges absorbed half of the inflows that went to centralized exchanges in Nigeria after changes in the regulatory environment, while Bitcoin made up 92% of small-value P2P transfers.