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Africa has been an adoption hub for cryptocurrency and according to a new report, the crypto use on the continent continues to grow.
According to the African Blockchain Report 2022, research compiled by Crypto Valley VC, a total of $474 million was brought in as funding for African blockchain firms. This marks a whopping 429% increase over the previous year. In 2021, African blockchain venture firms saw $90 million come in.
The African crypto funding increase dwarfs the global increase
The global increase of 4% in blockchain funding pales in comparison to Africa’s fundraising in the industry. General growth for African venture funding also was dwarfed by the blockchain-focused growth rate, with $3.14 billion coming in marking a 34% increase. While African venture funding only makes up 1.77% of the global blockchain venture funding, this is still rapidly increasing as more companies look to Africa within the crypto and blockchain industry.
Looking regionally, Seychelles and South Africa were two of the heavy hitters in the blockchain space. The two countries together made up 81% of the blockchain venture funding. Seychelles raised $208 million and South Africa raised $177 million in 2022. According to Crypto Valley VC’s report, the number of African blockchain deals that were made in the time period also increased from 26 to 29. The United States saw 137 deals made in the year, Asia had 84, and the European region overall saw 78 deals.
The significant increase in blockchain funding, coupled with a comparatively small number of blockchain deals taking place represents that businesses are receiving greater amounts of funding. This could signify that more VC firms and investors are looking to put more of their funds behind blockchain companies in Africa.
While Seychelles has seen the most funding come in, Nigeria currently has the most blockchain startups based on its soil that received funding over 2022. South Africa followed Nigeria, with Seychelles and Kenya sitting behind.