In the first ten years of the expansion of blockchain technology, it was utterly dominated by developed (or more precisely western) nations. Almost all the Bitcoin Miners were located in America and Europe, and only rising mining costs moved those operations abroad.
Asides from that, many of the earliest Bitcoin/blockchain innovators were either westerners or living in western countries. For example,
However, as blockchain technology is moving into the next phase of its development, it appears that emerging markets like Africa are adopting crypto faster than their global counterparts.
While no one knows the reason for this, it's very difficult to deny that it's happening. The numbers are simply undeniable.
This growth in blockchain adoption has been concentrated in countries Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Tanzania, which are some of the most densely populated nations on the continent. Peer-to-peer trading, which is a huge part of blockchain technology, is so big in
All this points to an exciting future for blockchain technology in these markets. This growth is even more impressive when one considers that there has been very little institutional support for blockchain technology in these nations.
All this points to one thing; blockchain technology adoption might already have plateaued in the West, but this is just the beginning in emerging markets like Africa.
The Opportunities are Limitless
The blockchain ecosystem of emerging markets might not be as huge as that of developed nations, but it's rather apparent that blockchain technology solves more structural problems in these markets than elsewhere. For example, in nations where inflation is rampant — like
Blockchain technology also gives a level of autonomy to citizens in nations with oppressive and dictatorial governments. In countries where governments can
This is indeed already happening. In 2020, there was at least one case of a
Asides from the monetary use of blockchain, it also has administrative uses as well. By applying blockchain technology to supply chain management, countries can greatly improve asset recording, tracking, assigning, linking and sharing; developing nations can build resilient supply chains without using an overinflated bureaucracy. This can be especially useful for
Blockchain can be useful in the entertainment industry as well. It can be used to prevent privacy in the industry, protect digital content, and facilitate the distribution of digital collectibles.
There are opportunities in gaming too. While Play-to-Earn games with NFT characters have gotten a bad rep because of how expensive it is to purchase a character, companies like Rainmaker Games are solving this problem.
With startups like Rainmaker Games lowering the barrier of entry for P2E gamers from emerging markets, it's only a matter of time before these players stand toe to toe with the rest of the world.
Asides from the structural shakeup a startup like Rainmaker Games can cause with its technology; there's also the matter of the financial freedom these P2E games can give to players from emerging markets.
The NFT Goldmine
Despite the opportunities on the blockchain, it's obvious that the same enthusiasm for crypto in emerging markets has been missing.
One reason that has been brought up is the unfriendly technical nature of NFTs. And that could be a good point. After all, the more technical using a technology is, the fewer people use it.
Perhaps that's why players in Web3 are already working on the important infrastructure that will help builders scale technical barriers to entry and build products faster and cheaper in the ecosystem.
Right now, NFTs have taken on a lot of different forms, but there's one that remains elusive; representation from emerging markets.
While developing nations seem quite capable of holding their own and accelerating their development when it comes to crypto, the markedly lukewarm attitude toward NFTs has continued unabated.
We know that the reason isn't because of lack of utility. NFTs have proven that they can solve the problem of
This means that NFTs have a huge future in these emerging markets — even if adoption isn't on the up and up as it is with crypto. The problem, it seems, is with the complexities of releasing a token and a much higher tech barrier to entry.
Cryptocurrency has largely avoided these problems due to a friendlier technical environment. For example, there are centralized exchanges for crypto where people with limited technical knowledge can just open an account and buy their cryptocurrency. While there is also something like that for NFTs — Opensea is a great example — it isn't targeted at or built for content creators in emerging markets.
Thankfully, some NFT companies are also already solving the problem of higher technical barriers to entry.
It's clear that there are limitless opportunities in the blockchain space in emerging markets. It's almost inevitable that more startups will come into the space and create solutions that are tailor-made for these markets. It is now a matter of when — not if.
Today, the developed world is the capital of blockchain innovation. But it might not be for long.