Abstract

This paper examines the evolving landscape of stablecoin adoption across East and West Africa, highlighting the intersection of macroeconomics, digital financial infrastructure, and regulatory innovation. The case study synthesizes existing research from global and regional studies, including Busha as a major operator, Chainalysis reports, fintech industry data, and academic analyses, to explore how stablecoins function as a cross-bridge between traditional finance and decentralized digital economies. Key themes identified include the role of currency depreciation and dollar scarcity as catalysts for adoption in Africa, the influence of mobilemoney ecosystems (e.g., M-Pesa) in facilitating access and trust, and the gradual emergence of regulatory frameworks such as Nigeria’s remittance policies and Kenya’s Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) Bill (2025). This research explains that West Africa’s stablecoin adoption is influenced by macro-level factors primarily, and demand is spurred by growing appetite for Dollar-pegged stability amid inflation. Meanwhile, East Africa’s trajectory embodies infrastructure-led growth, built on the interoperability between cryptocurrency exchanges and mobile-money networks. Across both regions, stablecoins (particularly USDT and USDC) serve increasingly practical roles in remittances, savings, and merchant payments, moving toward real-world utility. However, gaps persist in areas such as financial literacy, consumer protection, and cross-border policy harmonization. This case study thus situates stablecoin adoption within the broader context of Africa’s digital economic transformation, providing the conceptual and empirical foundation for the subsequent analysis of user data, market dynamics, and policy implications presented in this study.

Keywords: Stablecoins, Adoption, Financial inclusion, DeFi, Sub-Saharan Africa, Currency depreciation, Regulatory framework