Chainalysis Finds African Traders Least Likely Victims For Crypto Scams

Chainalysis stands as one of the most popular blockchain forensics firms out there and has recently concluded that Africa-based crypto traders are less likely to either send or receive, tokens from scam addresses. This is compared to other traders in other regions throughout this past year.

Only 2% Of Africa’s Crypto Is Illicit

In a report titled “2020 Geography of Cryptocurrency Report”, Chainalysis stated that Africa holds a lesser percentage of illegal cryptocurrency activity associated with scams, compared to the rest of the world’s regions. In total, the illegal cryptocurrency activity for Africa stands as just 2% of the $16 billion trading volume the region saw during July of 2019 and June of 2020. Of this 2%, only 55% of this was accounted for scams.

In the report, Chainalysis had highlighted how many people in Africa have already fallen victim to an array of financial scams so common in the fiat world. This includes various investment scams, as well, such as pyramid schemes. Furthermore, Chainalysis did highlight the large portion of illicit activity within Africa being scams, but the total amount of illicit activity is far lower.

Eastern Europe Leader In Illegal Crypto

Eastern Europe, however, stands as the dishonorable winner in this category, holding more than six times the illicit transactions than what was recorded in Africa in terms of yearly crypto volume. Eastern Europe has proven that those within it are more likely to fall for crypto “giveaways” and pyramid scams.

Scams consisted of 50% of all illegal crypto transactions within Eastern Europe, as well. Eastern Europe, in general, stands as a hub for illegal darknet activity. Of all the regions, it seems that crypto traders within East Asia are the most susceptible to scams, with 86% of all the illicit crypto within the region being sent to scams.

Nigerian Princes Make Africans Wary

As for how Africa, known for its crypto Ponzi schemes and Nigerian Princes, managed to get the lowest score in terms of falling for scams, Chainalysis has a few theories. While it’s hard to say for a fact, the report speculates that it’s the greater general awareness of scams, as it is such a part of the country.

This, in turn, has made it difficult for African users to even use legitimate crypto platforms, such as Paxful. What this means is that those that do try to venture into the crypto space are painfully aware of scams and their various red flags.