How Cryptocurrency Is Helping the Unbanked in Developing Countries

Over 1.4 billion people around the world don’t have a bank account. Many live in rural villages in Africa, South Asia, or Latin America, where the nearest bank branch is a day’s walk away-or doesn’t exist at all. Traditional banks won’t open accounts for them because they don’t have ID papers, steady income, or enough money to meet minimum balance rules. But most of them? They have a smartphone. And that’s where cryptocurrency steps in.

Cryptocurrency doesn’t need a bank

You don’t need a government-issued ID to create a crypto wallet. No credit check. No paperwork. Just download an app, generate a key, and you’re in. That’s it. In Nigeria, where only 58% of adults have bank accounts, over 30% own cryptocurrency. In Kenya, one in five people has used crypto to send or receive money. These aren’t tech elites. These are market vendors, farmers, and mothers sending money home to relatives.

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies run on blockchain networks. That means there’s no central bank controlling them. No branch manager deciding if you’re ‘trustworthy.’ Transactions happen directly between people, verified by computers around the world. All you need is internet. Even a slow connection works. You don’t need to trust a person-you trust the code.

Remittances that don’t cost a fortune

Think about a worker in South Africa sending money to family in Mozambique. Using Western Union or MoneyGram? They’ll pay up to 12% in fees. For every $100 sent, $12 disappears in charges. That’s $12 less for food, school fees, or medicine.

With crypto? That same $100 transfer costs less than $1. It arrives in minutes, not days. In 2024, over $100 billion in crypto was sent across borders to developing countries. That’s more than what Visa and Mastercard processed in remittances to Africa that year. People aren’t using crypto to gamble or speculate. They’re using it to survive.

When your currency is falling, crypto becomes a lifeline

In Argentina, Venezuela, and Lebanon, local currencies have lost half their value in just a few years. Savings in the bank? Gone. Inflation eats it alive. People there aren’t buying Bitcoin because they think it’ll hit $100,000. They buy it because it’s the only thing that doesn’t melt down.

Bitcoin has a fixed supply-only 21 million will ever exist. That’s different from a government printing more pesos, naira, or leones whenever they need cash. Crypto doesn’t inflate. It holds value. For people who’ve lost trust in their own money, crypto is a way to protect what little they have.

But it’s not magic

Crypto isn’t a fix-all. It’s a tool. And tools can break if you don’t use them right.

First, you need internet. In rural parts of India or the Democratic Republic of Congo, mobile data is spotty. Electricity? Sometimes only a few hours a day. Without reliable power and connectivity, crypto wallets are useless. You can’t send money if your phone dies.

Second, security is a nightmare. If you lose your private key-or someone steals it-your money is gone. Forever. No customer service. No ‘forgot password’ button. Many users don’t understand what a private key is. They write it on a piece of paper and leave it on the kitchen counter. That’s like leaving your house key under the mat.

Third, prices swing wildly. A person might buy $50 worth of Bitcoin to save for next month’s rent. If the price drops 30% in a week? That’s $15 gone. For someone living on $2 a day, that’s devastating. Crypto isn’t a savings account. It’s more like investing in stocks-with no safety net.

Who’s actually using it-and why

The biggest users aren’t speculators. They’re people who’ve been left out.

In Nigeria, young entrepreneurs use crypto to buy tools and materials from suppliers in China without going through banks that freeze their accounts for ‘suspicious activity.’ In Ghana, small farmers use tokenized land deeds to get loans from investors overseas. In the Philippines, overseas workers send crypto to their families, who cash it out at local kiosks run by trusted neighbors.

These aren’t abstract ideas. They’re real people doing real things. In Uganda, a woman named Amina started selling cassava flour online. She didn’t have a bank account, so she started accepting Bitcoin. Within six months, she doubled her income. She didn’t need a loan. She didn’t need a business plan. She just needed a phone and a QR code.

What governments are doing

Some countries are trying to block crypto. Others are building their own digital currencies.

Nigeria banned crypto payments for banks in 2021, but then launched its own central bank digital currency (CBDC), the eNaira, in 2023. It’s meant to be a safer, government-controlled version of crypto. But adoption? Barely 3%. People still prefer Bitcoin because it’s faster, cheaper, and not tied to the government’s shaky economy.

Ghana, Kenya, and India are testing CBDCs too. But here’s the problem: CBDCs still need ID. They still need banks. They still need trust in the state. Crypto doesn’t.

The real winners? Countries that let crypto exist alongside banks-not instead of them. In El Salvador, Bitcoin is legal tender. People use it for coffee, bus rides, and rent. It’s not perfect. But it’s working for millions who had no other option.

The path forward

Crypto won’t replace banks overnight. But it can give people a bridge until banks catch up.

What’s needed now?

• Education: Community workshops on how to use wallets safely. Not in English. In Swahili, Yoruba, Tagalog. Simple. Visual. No jargon.
• Infrastructure: More solar-powered charging stations in villages. Cheaper mobile data plans for crypto apps.
• Regulation: Clear rules that protect users without killing innovation. No bans. No overcomplicated licenses.
• Tools: Apps that auto-convert crypto to local currency at the point of sale. So you don’t have to worry about price swings.

It’s not about getting rich

Most people using crypto in developing countries aren’t trying to become millionaires. They’re trying to feed their kids. Pay for medicine. Send money home. Keep their savings from vanishing.

Crypto isn’t about speculation. It’s about access. It’s about dignity. It’s about having control over your own money-no matter where you live, what your ID says, or how much cash you have.

The future of financial inclusion isn’t in more bank branches. It’s in more phones. More connectivity. More freedom.

And right now, cryptocurrency is the only tool that gives that freedom to the people who need it most.