CRYPTO CORNER: Bitcoin turns 18 this weekend as the world economy gets drunk on cryptocurrency
Eighteen years after Satoshi Nakamoto published the bitcoin white paper, the crypto has expanded into a $101-billion regional economy in sub-Saharan Africa. However, the current market reality reveals a divergence from Nakamoto’s original vision.
Bitcoin celebrates its 18th anniversary this weekend, but the cryptocurrency has diverged from the original vision of its creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. In 2026, the African crypto market has grown to $101 billion, but Bitcoin's share in peer-to-peer transactions has plummeted from $36 billion to just $14.6 billion. Meanwhile, dollar-pegged stablecoins have surged sixfold, reaching $14.6 billion.
This shift is due to African consumers and businesses using cryptocurrency to hedge against local fiat inflation and gain access to USD liquidity. Centralised exchanges and corporate issuers dominate the African crypto market, while Bitcoin's role as the primary medium of exchange has largely been usurped by stablecoins.
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