To skylar
Mon, Jan 8
This is a very interesting and crucial question to understand the crypto market, not only in Mozambique but also in Africa in general. There is a misconception that Bitcoin (BTC) is the largest cryptocurrency in use worldwide, but this perception may be misleading in Africa and particularly in Mozambique.
I see this assumption as a marketing ploy to make the world think that Bitcoin is and will always be the globally accepted currency, working well even in financially more poorly regions as Africa. However, this is not entirely true, and it's easy to understand why:
An abstract Bitcoin art image to showcase how poorly is the usage of the asset in a more simple society
Despite its popularity, pioneering status, and purchasing power, not everyone in Africa, particularly in Mozambique, can afford to have Bitcoin in their portfolio. And those who do, will not necessarily use it for peer-to-peer payments.
One reason for this is its speed (Bitcoin is slow in confirming transactions on the network), and another is the fees that, in many parts of the African continent, including Mozambique, are unsustainable! Bitcoin (BTC) has ridiculously high fees that no individual working online and residing on the continent can bear to manage.
Considering only these reasons and without delving much deeper, it's easy to see that in Africa and particularly in Mozambique, individuals wanting to receive cryptocurrencies will always prefer those that can secure the majority of it, with the money immediately in their accounts. They prefer this over cryptocurrencies where they lose a significant amount just in transaction fees, and transactions take an eternity to confirm.
It could be Martin Luther king but not addressing people to go for BTC in Africa
However, it's essential to remember that many here in Mozambique still lack extensive knowledge of the crypto world. Despite the market's slow but steady growth, some still get entangled with the Bitcoin name and invest in it. They discover, in the worst way possible, that the balance in their accounts is only suitable for paying fees when they intend to transact. They quickly turn to market OGs (Original Gangsters) for support to understand which cryptocurrencies benefit them the most. At least then, they understand that Bitcoin (BTC) is not peer-to-peer money!
In any case, to understand the most commonly used cryptocurrencies in Mozambique, one needs to study the market a bit. It becomes evident that the national salary is not that substantial, and those involved in crypto want to keep more for themselves than paying fees. Hence, coins like Zcash, Bitcoin Cash, Polygon, Solana, Binance (widely used in the Binance P2P market), USDT: BEP-20, from Polygon, Optimism, and any cryptocurrency that can be used as digital peer-to-peer money.
Bitcoin (BTC) doesn't fit the bill as digital peer-to-peer money here, and many entrepreneurs don't use it as such. Instead, they leverage other cryptocurrencies that fit this profile and use them in their daily lives for payments or to receive money from abroad.
A CypherPunk always know what's better for him to use as Peer-to-Peer digital money
Therefore, all the confusion that the world reads in "sponsored" headlines around the globe – BTC is not usable here in Mozambique as digital peer-to-peer money. However, we have other cryptocurrencies that fit this profile perfectly, and Mozambicans use them for payments and receiving external remittances.
Wishing everyone an excellent Monday.
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