Stafford Masie, executive chairman of Africa Bitcoin Corporation, told Coin Stories host Natalie Brunell that Bitcoin operates as everyday money in parts of Africa rather than mainly as a store of value. In the interview, Masie said regional perspectives on Bitcoin (BTC) vary greatly and described communities where merchants prefer satoshis to dollars.
“Where I come from, Bitcoin is money,” he said, noting some circular local economies where vendors “won’t accept dollars — they accept satoshis.” While many in developed markets focus on Bitcoin as an inflation hedge, Masie described places where satoshis circulate directly in commerce and where currency depreciation is far more acute than in the West. “When you guys talk about debasement, you talk about 4% to 5% annually — we talk about 4% to 5% in an afternoon,” he said.
Masie compared the rapid uptake of Bitcoin to the continent’s fast mobile adoption, suggesting younger Africans are skipping legacy financial systems. Rather than moving from a strong fiat to crypto incrementally, he framed the shift as escaping “broken money” and severe currency debasement by moving into digital assets. He highlighted Africa’s youth — more than a quarter of the population is under 20 — and said younger people are enthusiastic about technologies like AI and “love Bitcoin.”
He argued Bitcoin is more than a passive store of value in this context, calling it “pristine capital” and a financial foundation for individuals and businesses. Reflecting on the impact of the Bitcoin white paper, Masie said Africans lived distinct eras before and after 2008, gaining access to a monetary form that is immutable, decentralized and difficult to confiscate — characteristics he described as life-changing for many.
Masie, a longtime technology executive who previously ran major tech operations in South Africa, spoke against a backdrop of rising crypto use across the continent. Chainalysis data shows Sub-Saharan Africa received more than $205 billion in on-chain value from July 2024 to June 2025, a 52% year-on-year increase, making it one of the fastest-growing crypto regions. Monthly on-chain volume hit nearly $25 billion in March 2025, a surge largely tied to activity in Nigeria after a currency devaluation.
The region’s market has a strong retail component: transfers under $10,000 made up more than 8% of total value sent in that period, compared with about 6% globally. At the same time, Nigeria and South Africa showed institutional-scale activity, with recurring multimillion-dollar stablecoin flows linked to cross-border trade between Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
At the World Economic Forum in January, former UN Under-Secretary-General Vera Songwe noted stablecoins are increasingly seen as cheaper remittance and settlement tools in Africa. She said remittances have become “more important than aid” in many economies, and traditional transfers can cost roughly $6 per $100 sent. With inflation above 20% in about a dozen countries and an estimated 650 million people unbanked, stablecoins can provide both a payments rail and a store of value in markets facing severe currency pressure.
This reporting reflects comments made on the Coin Stories podcast and public data on regional crypto activity. Cointelegraph states its commitment to independent, transparent journalism and encourages readers to verify information independently.
