Luno, Binance among 10 most downloaded crypto apps

Luno and Binance, the two global exchanges with substantial investments in Africa, are among the list of the top ten most downloaded cryptocurrency mobile apps in the world.

The list compiled by Apptopia, a mobile applications intelligence provider, had Coinbase as the most downloaded crypto platform with 7.9 million, followed by Crypto.com (5.5m) and Binance (4.6m). Others on the list include eToro (4.1m); Blockchain Wallet (3.4m); Trust (3.7m); BRD Bitcoin Wallet (3.3m); Luno (2.2m); Bitcoin Wallet (1.9m); and Coinbase Wallet (1.8m).

While many African cryptocurrency traders have exposure to some of the exchanges, Luno and Binance are the only ones with different levels of presence on the continent.

Africa may not be pulling its weight in terms of mining activities and cryptocurrency infrastructure, it is certainly not a pushover in adoption and trade. It is home to Nigeria the second-largest market in peer-to-peer cryptocurrency transactions.

Luno which is 8th on the Apptopia list has the most investments in Africa of all the top exchanges. As part of its over forty countries presence, the London-based crypto exchange acquired by the Digital Currency Group (DCG) in 2020, has a regional office in South Africa and physical locations in Nigeria its second-largest market in terms of value on the continent.

To ease trading difficulties experienced by many in countries like South Africa and Nigeria, users are allowed to deposit and withdraw their money in local currencies like Rand and Naira.

In Africa, the company saw more than 550,000 new users on its platform in Q2 2020 which contributes the largest share of cryptocurrency trading volume on the continent across non-P2P exchanges. Luno has marked significant territory as an exchange in several countries that have the highest percentage of cryptocurrency ownership, including South Africa (third-highest of its citizens owning digital currencies), Nigeria (fifth-highest), Indonesia (sixth-highest), and Malaysia (tenth-highest).

Luno said in January 2021 that it hit 6 million users many of whom came through education campaigns in different countries.

Binance on the other hand does not have physical locations on the continent but it has local teams working from different countries within the continent.

Apart from investing in a local cryptocurrency exchange in Nigeria, Bundle, Binance has also increased investment in education in Africa. As of 2020, it said it has reached over 70,000 learners within the continent and plans to do more in 2021.