Stafford Massie, executive chairman of Africa Bitcoin Corporation, said on Tuesday that bitcoin primarily functions as everyday money in some parts of Africa, rather than as a store of value.
Speaking with Nathalie Brunel on Tuesday’s Coin Stories podcast, Massey said that the framework for Bitcoin (BTC) varies greatly depending on the region.
“Where I come from, Bitcoin is money,” he told Brunel, adding that in some African circular economies merchants “don’t accept dollars, they accept Satoshis.”
While investors in developed markets often emphasize its role as an inflation hedge, he described a community in which Satoshi circulates directly into local economies. He also pointed out that there are significant differences in inflation rates in Western countries and in some parts of Africa.
“When you talk about degradation, you talk about 4% to 5% a year. We talk about 4% to 5% in the afternoon,” he said.
sauce: coin story
Masi compared this change to the rapid adoption of mobile technology on the continent, arguing that younger generations are bypassing the traditional financial system. He described the transition to digital assets from what he called “broken money” and rapid depreciation of currencies, rather than a gradual transition from stable fiat currencies.
He also emphasized that Africa’s youth are a key factor, noting that more than a quarter of the continent’s population is under the age of 20. Younger generations are embracing emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, and they “love Bitcoin,” he said.
Macy said that in this context, Bitcoin becomes more than just a passive store of value. Instead, he described it as a “primitive capital”. A financial infrastructure on which individuals and businesses can build. he said:
In Africa, we know the pre-2008 era and the post-2008 era. It was a time after the Bitcoin White Paper and before the Bitcoin White Paper. Our lives changed because suddenly we had something that could not be despised. It is immutable, decentralized, and cannot be confiscated. It is life or death for Africans. ”
Masie is a long-time technology executive who previously led a major technology business in South Africa.
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Introduction of cryptocurrencies in Africa
Data from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis appears to support the continental changes Macy describes.
From July 2024 to June 2025, Sub-Saharan Africa received over $205 billion in on-chain value, an increase of 52% year-on-year, making it the third fastest growing crypto region in the world. In March 2025 alone, monthly transaction value soared to nearly $25 billion. This is mainly due to Nigeria’s activities following currency devaluation.
sauce: chain analysis
Sub-Saharan Africa also stands out as a retail-driven crypto market. A report released in September found that remittances of less than $10,000 accounted for more than 8% of total remittances in the region over the same period, compared to about 6% globally.
At the same time, we saw significant institutional activity in Nigeria and South Africa, with on-chain flows showing repeated multi-million dollar stablecoin transfers related to cross-border trade between Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in January, former UN Under-Secretary-General Vera Songwe explained how stablecoins are increasingly attracting attention as a cheap means of money transfer and payments in Africa.
He said traditional remittances cost about $6 per $100 sent, but remittances have become “more important than aid” in many African economies. With inflation rates exceeding 20% in around a dozen countries and an estimated 650 million people without bank accounts, stablecoins offer both a means of payment and a store of value in a market facing currency pressures, he said.
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