JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — Africa has signalled a decisive push toward the future of digital finance, as more than 300 policymakers, financial institutions, and technology leaders convened for the Africa Stablecoin Summit 2025, a high-level conference exploring how stablecoins could reshape the continent’s economic landscape.
Powered by Binance and supported by Tether, Visa, and Telcoin, the two-day forum brought together central banks, regulators, commercial banks, development partners, and fintech innovators under the theme “Harnessing Stablecoins for Africa’s Economic Resilience.”
Delegations from Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, Zambia, and South Africa joined representatives from global institutions, including the IMF, United Nations, and the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), to analyse the opportunities and risks posed by the fast-growing digital asset class.
Addressing participants, Binance Africa Head of Legal Larry Cooke said stablecoins were emerging as a critical tool for cross-border economic inclusion.
“Stablecoins are more than a technological innovation — they are a pathway to inclusive, cross-border financial systems that can empower businesses and individuals across Africa. At Binance, we are committed to responsible innovation and collaboration with regulators,” he said.
The summit featured panel discussions on regulatory frameworks, interoperability, infrastructure development, consumer protection, and the integration of stablecoins into mainstream finance.
Stakeholders noted that the continent’s long-standing challenges — currency volatility, high remittance costs, and fragmented payment systems — have made Africa a natural testing ground for digital currencies.
On his part, Visa Senior Vice President and Head of Commercial and Money Movement Solutions CEMEA, Shahebaz Khan, said the global payments giant viewed stablecoins as the next frontier in financial technology.
“Visa’s global network has long been the engine for how the world pays and gets paid. As money evolves, we’re extending that trusted infrastructure to the next frontier: stablecoins. The potential to modernise global money movement is tremendous,” he said.
Recent data presented at the summit underscored the rapid uptake of stablecoins on the continent. Industry reports show that stablecoins accounted for 43pc of all crypto transaction volume in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2024, with Nigeria alone posting nearly USD 22 billion in transactions between July 2023 and June 2024.
Another study estimates that stablecoin flows represented 6.7pc of GDP across Africa and the Middle East in 2024.
Telcoin CEO Paul Neuner highlighted growing interest among telecom operators, describing stablecoins as a natural extension of mobile money systems already popular across East and West Africa.
“We’ve been preaching the idea of the ‘internet of money’ — where stablecoins move seamlessly between consumers and merchants. Telcos can play a central role, just as they run the normal internet today,” he said.
For ordinary Africans, experts said the technology could reduce remittance costs, improve transaction speeds, strengthen cross-border trade, and provide a buffer against fluctuating local currencies.
Kenya, already known for its mobile-money penetration, was repeatedly cited as a key market likely to benefit from the shift.
Despite the optimism, regulators warned of the need to address risks such as de-pegging, illicit financial flows, and gaps in consumer protection. Several participants urged African governments to harmonise regulatory approaches to avoid fragmentation.
As the summit closed, stakeholders agreed that stablecoins are moving from speculative assets to practical financial tools with the potential to reshape how Africans send, receive, and store value.
The conference’s outcomes are expected to influence policy direction across the continent as countries position themselves for the accelerating digital-currency era.
