[GUIDE] How to buy Bitcoin in Africa – 2020 – Step-by-step

Africa is experiencing a quiet but significant Cryptocurrency revolution. There are two distinct reasons for that; Cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin offer strong protection against inflation but also a great alternative for quick and borderless payments. According to US Blockchain research firm Chainalysis, monthly Bitcoins & other cryptocurrency transfers to and within Africa have risen by 55% year on year. 

So where and how can you buy Bitcoin in African countries?

If you live in any country in Africa and want to protect your purchasing power against inflation or even send money bankless, Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies can be a good alternative for you. There are multiple ways for you to buy Bitcoins in Africa, for example, Bitcoin ATMs, Peer-to-Peer forums, and Crypto exchanges. 

In this guide, we will focus on how to get started with Cryptocurrency exchanges and walk you through how to buy Bitcoin or trade Crypto in Africa.

What do you need to buy Bitcoin?

Find a Cryptocurrency exchange

There are a couple of Cryptocurrency exchanges operating in Africa. Which Cryptocurrency exchange is the best for you depends on your investor profile and your country location. Below, we created a small list of the best cryptocurrency exchanges in Africa.

>>> Comparison of the best sites to buy Bitcoin in Nigeria.

How to buy Cryptocurrencies in Africa. Source: Unsplash
How to buy Cryptocurrencies in Africa. Source: Unsplash

Binance

Headquartered in Malta, and incorporated in 2017, Binance is one of the most trusted Cryptocurrency in the world. They are also insured so the coins that you store on the exchange are safe. There is no official list, but it seems that Binance is available in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa and Uganda. 

In order to buy Bitcoin, your best bet is to create a free account on Binance and to see if the African country you are living in is available. The founder of Binance stated multiple times that he saw a lot of potential in Africa and that he saw it as the company’s goal to make cryptocurrencies available to all countries in Africa. Click here to register.

Bonus points: 

  • Binance is not only allowing you to buy Bitcoins, they list hundreds of different coins that you can buy such as Ethereum, Monero, Litecoin, Bitcoincash, Dash and stable coins such as USDC, USDC and DAI
  • Binance also offers “Binance Earn” that allows you to stake your coins to earning interest and generate passive income. 
  • Binance also offers peer to peer buying as well as credit card crypto buying

Kraken

Kraken is a web-based cryptocurrency exchange, founded in 2011 and based in San Francisco, whose CEO is Jesse Powell. Kraken is available to residents of 48 U.S. states and 176 countries as of 2020 and lists 40 trade-accessible cryptocurrencies. During the implosion of Mt. Gox in 2014-15, Kraken played a role in trying to recover funds lost by investors. According to CoinMarketCap, Kraken is the world’s fourth-largest cryptocurrency exchange (as of September 2020).

This allows the exchange of several fiat currencies (US dollars, Canadian Dollars, Euros, Yen, and Pounds) towards a panel of crypto-currencies such as: BTC, BCH, ETH, LTC, DASH, XMR, XRP.

Kraken is not available everywhere in Africa but here is a list of the countries where you can open a Kraken account.

  • Central African Republic
  • Eritrea
  • Guinea-Bissau
  • Lebanon
  • Mali
  • Namibia
  • Somalia
  • South Sudan
  • Sudan
  • Yemen

NairaEx (Nigeria only)

NairaEx is a highly secured platform on which you can buy and sell Bitcoins as well as other cryptocurrencies. NairaEx is only available in Nigeria and only accepts (for now) Nigerian Naira. To register on NairaEx, you simply need to click on the following link.

Bonus point:

  • Super local service

Luno

Luno is a very promising cryptocurrency available in 4 countries in Africa: South Africa, Nigeria, Uganda and Zambia. Luno does not only offer a cryptocurrency exchange, but also a trading platform and a crypto wallet. So it can be your one-stop shop to buy Bitcoin in Africa. Luno also offers physical offices in Africa such as in Nigeria and in South Africa. According to CryptoCompare, Luno is also on the list of the top 20 Bitcoin exchanges.

Bonus points: 

  • On Luno, you can purchase Bitcoin through wire transfer, cash deposits, and credit / debit cards
  • You can also purchase Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin LTC, and Bitcoin Cash ( BCH) on Luno, in addition to bitcoin.

What are the steps to buy Bitcoin on Luno: 

  1. Register by clicking here
  2. Make sure to prepare some personal information such as phone number, National ID and proof of residence

Once your order is completed, don’t forget to send your coins to your cold or hot wallet

Paxful

If you can’t register on Binance or Luno, then try your luck on Paxful. Paxful is available in all  African countries except Burundi, Libya, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan. Paxful is growing. Paxful is not your standard cryptocurrency exchange. It’s focussing on peer-to-peer transactions. So simply a marketplace putting buyers and sellers together. Paxful is claiming having reached 4 million crypto wallets with more than 350 employees and 24/7 customer support. The platform’s exponential growth is the result of massive development in Africa. Paxful also accepts over 300 payment methods such as Paypal, Western Union, MoneyGram, PerfectMoney, etc..

What are the steps to buy Bitcoins on Paxful?

  1. Visit paxful.com and create an account
  2. Confirm your phone number and email.
  3. Verify your identity
  4. Have an interview with the Paxful about why you want to buy Cryptos
How to buy Cryptos in Africa – Source: pexels

Prepare the right documents

As you saw, each cryptocurrency is going to require some identification documents. The Know-Your-Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundry (AML) procedures of various Bitcoin exchanges will require this to be completed. Platform claims that this is to prevent money laundering. This means that you will need a national ID card to purchase Bitcoin in Africa.

Wire some funds to the exchange to purchase Cryptos

To buy Bitcoin in Africa, you will need to wire some funds to the cryptocurrency exchange before you are allowed to place an order. Most of the exchanges accept the common money wiring methods such as Paypal, MoneyGram, Western Union, Credit Card, Wiretransfer, Mobile Cash etc.

Wallet to store your Bitcoin:

Now that you successfully registered on a Cryptocurrency exchange, the next thing you need is a wallet to store your coins. A wallet is an application software that allows you to store Bitcoins (or other Cryptos). 

The reason why you want to keep your coins on a wallet instead of keeping them on the exchange itself is simple: Crypto exchanges get hacked all the time. Some are insured, some are not. Also, crypto exchanges go bankrupt too e.g. Cryptopia. If your Crypto is stored on a cold wallet, it’s impossible for a hacker to access it and if the exchange goes bust, then you still have your crypto. 

If you want a cheap solution, you could decide to create a unique Bitcoin wallet using bitadress.org. It will create a unique wallet where you can send your coins using the “share” address and transfer them using the secret address. After you created the wallet, print out the document, and put it on a USB stick. That’s it. Here is your cold wallet. 

If you want a more sophisticated solution, you can go ahead and use a ledger for example the Ledger Nano X.

We hope that you found this tutorial on how to buy cryptocurrencies in Africa useful.

  • Open an account on Binance today >> Click here

We wish you all the best in your life as a cryptocurrency, stocks, or ETF investor. We also hope that you enjoy our Lifestyle section. Please keep in mind that I am no financial advisor and none of the above is guaranteed to be correct. I create the content above for education purposes only. Cryptocurrency investments are subject to high market risk. Surfer Investor is not responsible for your trading losses. The opinions and statements made above should not be construed as financial advice. All the best – Surferinvestor.com

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