Although lagging far behind the rest of the world in many other indicators, Africa seems to be leading the way in cryptocurrency or blockchain.

The sharp increase of Kucoin users in Africa in 2021

In African countries plagued by currency difficulties or hyperinflation, cryptocurrency has become a real alternative store of value. The same digital currency is increasingly becoming the preferred method of remittance or cross-border payment.

In other words, in addition to transactions, cryptocurrencies have practical uses in Africa. However, as Johny Lyu, CEO of Kucoin, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has observed, many African cryptocurrency users or holders are beginning to become more interested in the trading aspects of things.

In fact, in a written response to a question sent to him via Linkedin, Lyu revealed that more and more African users are venturing into futures or margin trading. The CEO also explained how his organization is preparing for what some consider to be a trillion-dollar industry in the future.

The following are some of Lyu’s answers to the questions posed to him by Bitcoin.com News.

Bitcoin.com News (BCN): What are the most purchased by African users this year?

Johnny Lu (JL): Bitcoin, Ethereum, SOL, KDA and LUNA are the projects that most African users pay attention to. With the rise of NFT, Gamefi, and Metaverse, the native tokens of these industry-related projects have also been included in the portfolio of African users, such as BLOK, DREAMS, etc. In addition, under the influence of market sentiment, DOGE, SHIB and ELON such as meme coins have also attracted the attention of African investors.

BCN: What does this traffic mean?

Agere: In addition to the increase in traffic, the number of new users of Kucoin in Africa has also shown explosive growth, showing that a new wave of traditional capital has poured into the crypto world. The increasing acceptance of blockchain and cryptocurrency in Africa also heralds the accelerated development of the crypto industry. Blockchain may be the next big event after the Internet. All countries are on the same starting line. Therefore, we believe that blockchain can become an opportunity for developing countries to catch up with developed countries.

BCN: What are the changes in the number of users and transaction volume?

Agere: Since the beginning of 202, the number of African users and transaction volume of the Kucoin platform have been increasing month by month. The transaction volume calculated in October 2021 increased by 74% compared with the previous month, and the number of new registered users increased by more than 200%. So far, the exchange has maintained the same growth rate.

BCN: Which products are most used in Africa?

Agere: Most African users are now using spot transactions. In November 2021, the spot trading volume will lead by 60% of all trading varieties. But we are seeing growing interest in margin trading, which has increased by 143% in October 2021 compared to the previous month.

BCN: On the other hand, Kucoin Labs, the investment arm of Kucoin, recently launched a $100 million fund to support the Yuan Festival project. Can you tell us why your organization took such a big step so early?

Agere: As the “hometown of altcoins and crypto gems”, Kucoin has always been highly sensitive to the latest trends in the market. Metaverse is the next chapter of the Internet, and we believe it will change many aspects of our society. Our mission is to help start projects that enter the field of Metaverse and introduce them to our users. We will identify the projects that are actually being developed and reject those that are only in the hype wave. It is important to start doing this now in the market formation stage.

Sometimes, due to lack of marketing budgets, inadequate media coverage, and the obscurity of the community, projects that are worthwhile from a technical point of view are overshadowed by weaker projects. Other startups with similar ideas may have the upper hand in technology or marketing. Normally, startups with strong marketing efforts and no technical foundation will drive competitors with technological advantages out of the market. This led to a dangerous situation, as witnessed in 2017-18, when many ICO projects proved to be scams. Kucoin Labs will definitely promote the formation of a healthy market by supporting technological capabilities and innovation.

BCN: According to reports, part of the Yuan Festival Fund’s funds are dedicated to education projects. Can you tell us the amount that will be used for this purpose?

Agere: Funding for technologically powerful projects is not the only project we spend on. Training young professionals is very important for fast-growing high-tech industries like blockchain. We did not include any specific numbers in the release because it was wrong to do so, because we are prepared to spend as much money as possible on the education part. You can’t just say, “Well, let’s spend $10 million on the hackathon!” Learning is an ongoing process, and development grants are limited.

We plan to invest a lot of money in the training of young talents, but we don’t know how much they have, which determines the cost of training. Kucoin Labs’ education program has enough space for everyone to use, we will not behave like a university, and sometimes the number of vacancies for applicants is limited.

BCN: In addition to education programs, what else should be done to allow as many people as possible to join Metaverse?

Agere: This industry needs people who are passionate, intelligent and willing to work hard. Among my friends, colleagues and partners, I know many such people in the crypto industry. They will create products that can attract users on their own without any additional incentives.

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