Study Shows Bitcoin Adoption in Emerging Markets on the Rise

Crypto exchange AAX announced today that a new commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of AAX has found significant Bitcoin awareness and growing adoption across emerging markets in Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia.

According to the study, 74% of consumers in the surveyed markets were aware of Bitcoin, while 52% of survey respondents indicated that they had noticed an increase in Bitcoin usage in their country over the past 12 months.

Interestingly, 91% of respondents believe Bitcoin may enable a digital future, especially in regards to providing a platform for payments and transfers that local banks may not be able to offer.

The findings indicate that despite its recent price volatility, Bitcoin use is likely to continue expanding in emerging markets as it fulfills a digital transaction gap. Data from the study points to a potential leap-frog effect occurring as emerging market users adopt Bitcoin for more daily transactions.

Additional factors driving the use of Bitcoin in emerging markets include enabling consumers to become financially independent, dissatisfaction with existing financial services, and the need for extra means of making and receiving payments or transfers.

For many users in emerging markets, Bitcoin offers an alternative to the banking system that is easier to access, more secure, and protected from government intervention,” said Ben Caselin, head of Research and Strategy at AAX.

We believe this study really shows us the potential of Bitcoin to power a different, fairer, and more inclusive financial system for everyone – not simply an investment vehicle for institutions and a wealthy minority.

Forrester conducted a survey on 806 consumers across Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. The firm also conducted eight qualitative interviews with senior decision-makers at financial institutions across the four regions. The study began in February 2022 and was completed in June 2022, which was a period of price volatility for Bitcoin.

The study reinforces that while developed markets remain conservative on the use of Bitcoin as a digital currency due to value, security, regulation, and sociopolitical concerns, consumers in emerging markets have a different perspective.