Crypto’s meteoric rise could make or break Africa

Opinion by: Ure Utah, technical advisor to Nigeria’s minister of innovation

With the value of digital currencies , the world is rushing to cash in. While Elon Musk’s Dogecoin () and the US president’s Official Trump () coin grab headlines, Africa sits at the frontline of this worldwide financial upheaval.

This is a crucial point. Unless African leaders act to regulate or harness crypto, what happens next will determine whether the continent’s 1.55 billion inhabitants build greater sovereignty over their future or usher in a new era of financial instability.

The opportunities are vast. Leveraging crypto would unlock new pools of capital, reroute remittance flows and potentially reshape the entire sovereign debt market. African governments owe the International Monetary Fund (IMF) $42.2 billion — a third of the organization’s outstanding credit. Egypt alone owes a staggering $7.42 billion.

These debts strain national budgets and hinder growth projects. 

The high-risk gamble

The risks are, however, stratospheric. Widespread adoption of stablecoins could drain deposits from local bank branches, destabilizing the monetary control of central banks.Africa’s most fragile currencies— like those of Sierra Leone, Uganda and Guinea — could buckle under this kind of volatility.

Cryptocurrency claims to democratize. As with every disruptive technology absorbed into global capitalism, however, it promises inclusion while reinforcing exclusion. We already see it making the rich richer.

The African risk rating

In Africa, the stakes are high. The population is young, and some African economies — like oil-rich Niger and Senegal — are among the fastest growing. Still, weak regulation and relatively low levels of financial literacy mean that communities least able to absorb losses are also the most exposed.

If remittance flows — worth more than $95 billion annually to Africa — migrate onto blockchain rails, traditional banks and regulators risk being sidelined altogether, upending monetary policy across dozens of nations.

Look at the contrast. In the US, Trump’s pro-crypto policies have shored up America’s borrowing power by tying stablecoins to Treasury markets, with Tether holding over $120 billion in government debt. In Europe, tokenization experiments remain tightly regulated. Meanwhile, China is weaponizing its digital yuan to extend influence across Belt and Road partners. 

Africa has no such buffers. Which is precisely why African leaders must act now to corral crypto to reduce reliance on IMF bailouts, ease sovereign debt burdens and boost Africa’s ability to finance growth on its own terms.

A framework for regulatory evolution

Strong regulation is not a luxury; it’s the only way to protect citizens from fraud while giving investors the confidence that African tokenized projects are serious and credible. With that in place, Africa could capture billions in environmental, social and governance-aligned global capital (projected to reach $35 trillion-$50 trillion by 2030). 

Investment in financial literacy and decentralized finance (DeFi) skills is desperately needed so that communities can use digital assets safely. And tokenized infrastructure projects can put crypto to work for the public good.

Real-life lessons from the world beyond Africa

There are models to build on. The World Food Programme’s Building Blocks project used blockchain to distribute cash to vulnerable populations, including Syrian refugees in Jordan. This was redeemable at local markets, where users purchased goods using iris scan technology. Last year, Building Blocks supported 65 organizations, enhancing efficiency and aid distribution to save $67 million. 

Inspiration can also come from the Global North, where using crypto and blockchain for social good is already underway. Estonia has pioneered blockchain-based e-voting, increasing voter trust, preventing fraud and speeding up results. US-based Climate Collective is tokenizing rainforests and other natural assets to preserve ecosystems and monetize carbon reduction. These use cases underscore a simple truth: Crypto can work for communities, not just markets. 

Related:

Earlier this year, the $210-million Immaculata Living Project was launched in Chicago — the world’s largest university-backed, crypto-powered real estate project. A collaboration between private companies and the American Islamic College is both a social enterprise and a commercial venture.

That dual nature makes it important. By blending profit with purpose, Immaculata shows how crypto can deliver community benefits while attracting investors. In a sector often criticized for speculation, it offers a blueprint for how digital finance can underpin financially sustainable and socially transformative projects. 

The redevelopment will restore the crumbling, century-old Immaculata campus and add a 22-story tower with hundreds of senior living apartments and homes for young professionals — fully equipped with on-site catering, wellness events, care facilities, AIC courses and a diverse activity program.

From experimentation to implementation

This is an opportunity to use crypto to democratize property ownership, whereby anyone can buy whatever size share in an apartment they can afford. It lets investors go direct and build wealth from the ground up in a firmly regulated way.

Importantly, the intention is that Immaculata be a blueprint for utilizing digital currency as a force for both private investment and public good, creating 50 new jobs, improving access to further education and building a new, socially cohesive community that unites people of different generations and faiths under “one roof” — without spending taxpayer dollars.

Tokenization doesn’t have to remain an experiment in the West. Housing projects in Lagos, clean energy grids in Nairobi or new university campuses in Accra could all be financed this way, giving global investors a stake while letting local communities share in the returns.

African leaders must seize this opening to rewrite capital rules — or allow digital finance to widen the gap between rich and poor.

Opinion by: Ure Utah, technical advisor to Nigeria’s minister of innovation.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.