A 2025 report by NFTEvening shows the growing adoption of cryptocurrencies in local economies, particularly its acceptance in everyday transactions.
According to the report, in 2024, worldwide merchant adoption surged dramatically, growing from 8,571 in 2023 to 12,834 in 2024 – a remarkable increase of nearly 50%.
Africa has seen significant growth in the number of merchants accepting cryptocurrencies, increasing from 528 in 2023 to 748 in 2024. South Africa dominates with 584 locations, showing its advancement around the continent, while it is also 6th globally.
- South Africa also recorded the highest increase during the period, with 115 new merchants reportedly accepting cryptocurrencies.
- Within the region, the East African nation of Kenya comes second with 74 merchants, out of whom 61 began accepting crypto in 2024.
- Tanzania (30)
- Uganda (17), and
- Ghana (9)
are the countries coming after Kenya and South Africa.
Surprisingly, the list does not include Nigeria which was ranked as the leading country in Africa in the 2024 Chainalysis Crypto Adoption Index.
REPORT | #Nigeria Ranked 2nd Globally in #DeFi and the Only African Country in Top 20 by Chainalysis 2024 Crypto Adoption Index
“When we look at year-over-year growth in terms of types of services, we see that DeFi activity increased significantly in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin… pic.twitter.com/foXhFCjaM1
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) September 13, 2024
Meanwhile, Brazil stands out globally, leading with 1,292 crypto payment locations, underscoring the role of emerging market societies in the use of cryptocurrencies. The USA and El Salvador closely follow.
Europe remains the epicenter for crypto payments, with the highest numeric increase in locations (2,029 new locations).
According to the study, businesses embracing crypto payments are reaping significant benefits.
“A compelling 88.2% of business owners reported increased revenue after introducing crypto payment options.
Interestingly, 75.7% of merchants are choosing to retain their crypto earnings as investments, reflecting confidence in crypto’s long-term value.”
Top 3 reasons businesses accept crypto include:
- Faster & Borderless Payments (40.7%) – Businesses recognize crypto’s efficiency in processing international transactions swiftly without traditional financial barriers
- Customer Demand (29.8%) – Increasingly crypto-savvy consumers are directly influencing business practices
- Asset Accumulation (21.0%) – Merchants aim to accumulate crypto assets
The study’s methodology involved analyzing data from BTCMap.org to track global crypto payment adoption. Additionally, a survey of 1,009 business owners who accept crypto payments was conducted via the Prolific platform to gain deeper insights.
The data collection took place between February 28 2025 – March 7 2025.
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