It is always interesting to look where Bitcoin is a popular search trend. Although one would expect African countries to rank rather high on the results list, it appears Eastern European countries are growing keen on Bitcoin as well. In fact, the top five countries with a keen interest in Bitcoin are quite surprising to a lot of people. This spells quite good news for the future of cryptocurrency.
5. South Africa
Hardly anyone will be surprised to find out South Africa is showing great interest in bitcoin right now. Although the country is doing “ok-ish” financially, there is always a need for innovative and digital payments. With access to bank accounts and credit cards still somewhat limited in the country, Bitcoin makes for a fine alternative. The LocalBitcoins chart does not show a massive spike in Bitcoin trades for now, but it still generates some decent volume.
4. Slovenia
It is somewhat interesting to see Eastern European countries grow an interest tin Bitcoin. Countries such as Slovenia are in rough shape right now, and it looks like things will not improve financially anytime soon. An interest in Bitcoin makes a lot of sense in this regard, that much is certain. Unfortunately, currently there is no LocalBitcoins chart of Slovenia available, making it a bit harder to gauge if there has been any recent trading volume spikes in recent months.
3. Estonia
Another Eastern European country looking into Bitcoin is none other than Estonia. The country has been somewhat keen on embracing blockchain technology as of late, which could explain the increased demand for Bitcoin as well. It is evident the Bitcoin trading volume on LocalBitcoins across all of Europe has increased over the past few weeks. It is difficult to tell how much of this volume comes from Estonia, but it is a positive development regardless.
2. Ghana
No one is surprised to see Ghana in the list of countries where Bitcoin demand is surging. Not only is the financial situation rather dire in that part of the world, but service like Bitpesa have also successfully gained market share in Ghana. This means Bitcoin is “advertised” prominently in the country, and a lot of people are aware of what this cryptocurrency can do for them.
Ghana does not have an individual LocalBitcoins chart either, although it is safe to say Bitcoin is quite prominent in the region. It will be interesting to see if this is the situation will change in the coming years. More countries are trying to introduce some form of Bitcoin legislation, which helps “validate” the cryptocurrency in the eyes of the general population.
1. Nigeria
There was no doubt Nigeria is the first region on the list where Bitcoin is in high demand. It is unclear if this is due to positive reasons, though. The MMM Global Ponzi scheme only accepts bitcoin deposits in Nigeria to avoid scrutiny by the government. This fact will drive up demand for Bitcoin, even if it is for the wrong reasons altogether. Then again, the popularity of Bitcoin in Nigeria can be turned into something positive moving forward.
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