African crypto exchange registers $3.2B in transactions ahead of global expansion

After nearly three years in operation, Nigerian cryptocurrency exchange Quidax has reported more than $3.2 billion in transactions, underscoring the rapid adoption of digital assets in Africa’s largest economy.

Since launching in August 2018, Quidax has amassed over 400,000 customers across 72 countries, the company disclosed on Monday. The figures were published alongside an announcement that the exchange plans to further expand its crypto trading operations beyond Africa.

In addition to its expansion plans, Quidax announced the launch of QDX, its native token, on Binance Smart Chain. The BEP-20 token “will power all the functions within the Quidax ecosystem from trading fees on the exchange, to staking, governance, and all financial products,” the company said.

CEO Buchi Okoro said Quidax is “set to become the global home of BEP-20 tokens,” adding:

“This means that anyone in the world can trade over 100 cryptocurrencies in the Binance Smart Chain ecosystem on Quidax.”

Cryptocurrency adoption has taken off in Africa thanks to the growing utility of Bitcoin (BTC) and other digital assets. Nigerians are embracing cryptocurrencies to combat double-digit inflation and to skirt capital controls in the country. Between 2015 and 2020, Nigerians traded 60,500 BTC on Paxful, a peer-to-peer trading platform.

Nevertheless, digital asset regulation remains a legal grey area in the country after the Central Bank of Nigeria banned financial services companies from servicing crypto exchanges. Deputy Governor Edward Lamekek Adamu later clarified that the regulator didn’t ban citizens from trading or holding digital assets.