Peer-to-Peer Bitcoin Trading Tops $95 Million as Sub-Saharan Africa Records Set All Time High

Weekly peer-to-peer bitcoin trading volumes topped $95 million globally with several countries recording new all-time highs for the year.

The record trading volumes coincided with the most bullish week for cryptocurrencies with bitcoin (BTC) briefly trading above $12,000.

As data from Usefultulips shows, peer to peer bitcoin trading volumes for the week topped an equivalent of $95 million. The figure surpasses $92.4 million, the highest weekly volume value in 2019.

The data combines trading volumes at two peer-to-peer trading platforms, Localbitcoins and Paxful. According to the same data, the month of December 2017 had the highest ever recorded weekly traded volume. Trades totaling $131 million were recorded.

Meanwhile, a break down of the $95 million by region shows that North America is leading with $28.7 million. The United States takes the lion’s share of that figure.

The Sub-Saharan Africa region comes second with $18.3 million worth of bitcoin have being traded between peers in the period under review.

A further breakdown of the $18.3 million reveals that Nigeria leads the Sub-Saharan Africa region. According to the data, Nigerian peer to peer bitcoin trading volumes topped an equivalent of $9.8 million. The figure is slightly below the $10.3 million recorded in the week earlier.

Kenya is a distant second with $3.2 million worth of trades while South African peer-to-peer trading volumes topped $2.8 million.

The Sub-Saharan Africa data also shows that the region’s $18.3 million is the highest ever recorded. A noticeable spike in trading volumes which began in April suggests that Covid-19 and lockdown measures might have made peer to peer bitcoin trading more appealing.

Meanwhile, Latin America and the Asia Pacific are two regions with the next highest volumes. Both regions had about $13 million worth of bitcoins being traded.

As expected, Venezuela, which is grappling with record inflation levels, leads in Latin America with nearly $5 million worth of bitcoin traded.

Colombia is second with $3.4 million while crisis-hit Argentina is a distant third with just under $1 million worth of trades.

In the Asia Pacific, China and India are neck and neck with $4.5 million and $4.4 million respectively. For India, the figure represents a new all-time high.

What do you think about the growing peer-to-peer trading volumes? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below.

The post Peer-to-Peer Bitcoin Trading Tops $95 Million as Sub-Saharan Africa Records Set All Time High appeared first on Bitcoin News.

via Terence Zimwara