Crypto Africa: Bitcoin and Stablecoin Payments Surge 176% in South Africa

In South Africa, crypto is starting to move from trading screens to checkout counters. In the first half of 2026, the rand value of Bitcoin and stablecoin payments made via MoneyBadger surged by 176% year-on-year. The number of transactions grew by 95%. From groceries and fuel to online shopping, crypto is increasingly becoming a part of daily life.

Crypto Africa: Bitcoin is Really Moving to the Checkout

MoneyBadger analyzed completed payments on its network for the first half of 2026. The results show that the spent value increased by 176%, with growth accelerating to +206% year-on-year in the second quarter.

This adoption comes as South Africa considers tightening cross-border crypto transfers. Two trends are moving in parallel: increased regulation and higher real-world utility.

The transaction sizes reflect this shift. Half of all payments are under 200 rands, and 87% remain under 1,000 rands. We are therefore not just talking about investors moving large portfolios.

The official MoneyBadger report sums up the trend simply: South Africans are now buying food and fuel with crypto, sometimes for just a few hundred rands.

Stablecoins Reach a New Dimension

Another major shift: Bitcoin is no longer alone.

ZARU, a rand-pegged stablecoin launched in February by a consortium including Luno, Sanlam, EasyEquities, and Lesaka, already accounted for 7.7% of all value spent on MoneyBadger after just six months. Crucially, it made up 98% of spending done with rand-denominated stablecoins.

Between June and July, its transactional value grew by another 61%.

This evolution aligns with an already visible continental trend: stablecoins are gaining ground in African payments, particularly where traditional banking systems are expensive or impractical.

Reuters also estimates that Africa ranks behind Latin America among the regions with the highest growth potential for stablecoin-backed card payments.

Crypto Payments Scale Up in South Africa

Network expansion is clearly driving this. The number of merchants who have actually received a crypto payment surged from 57 in August 2025 to 2,927 in August 2026, thanks in large part to MoneyBadger’s integration by Ozow, Peach Payments, and Zapper.

E-commerce is also taking over. In the second quarter of 2025, physical stores accounted for 97% of the value. A year later, their share dropped to 29%, compared to 48% for e-commerce.

And custodial wallets from Luno, VALR, or Binance still account for roughly two-thirds to three-quarters of the amounts spent.

This growth is part of the broader battle for digital payments in Africa. Banks, fintechs, and blockchain networks are now targeting the same transactions.

Crypto in Africa is thus entering a phase far more interesting than mere speculation. South Africa is now providing data showing users who are actually paying, returning, and spending small amounts. Stablecoins will still have to prove they can sustain this growth beyond promotional periods and early adopters. For now, volumes are growing rapidly.

In Brief

• The value of crypto payments grew 176% year-on-year.
• The number of transactions increased by 95%.
• 87% of payments remain under 1,000 rands.
• The ZARU stablecoin already accounts for 7.7% of the value spent.
• 2,927 merchants received crypto payments in August 2026.