Opinion: Maksym Sakharov, Group CEO of Wefi
The crypto industry focuses on the same market, the US and the European Union. The conversation is primarily about regulatory clarity, speculative interests, and institutional access, whether it’s a Silicon Valley venture capital firm or a Wall Street exchange fund issuer.
Unfortunately, this fixation blinds much of the industry to a more pressing reality, not New York, London, Brussels, but Lagos, Buenos Aires and Manila.
In particular, those who believe that crypto legitimacy is based on acceptance of institutional capital and regulations in the markets in which it has been developed may shake off the above statement. However, numbers present different images even when they are consistently overlooked.
According to the latest Chain Melting Report on Crypto adoption, India has said it is number one in the world for the third consecutive year when using digital assets. Nigeria, Vietnam and the Philippines aren’t too late.
These markets are not driven by the desire to speculate about new asset classes. The fundamental needs of financial survival and practicality reinforce them. This is where true growth occurs and the kind that could rebuild the financial system.
Crypto has already solved the problem
For example, consider Argentina, where annual inflation has historically crushed the triple digits. There, citizens are converting their pesos into stubcoins to maintain their value rather than trade. Furthermore, they have not purchased Bitcoin on HODL. Instead, they use dollar-covered digital assets to buy groceries and pay rent.
The situation in Nigeria is almost the same, and citizens regularly use crypto for cross-border trade and remittances to help reduce the exorbitant fees levied by traditional remittance services. Furthermore, sub-Saharan Africa is the fastest growing among crypto users in all regions of the world, with nearly 20% increasing each year, according to the Chain Melt Report.
These examples show that Crypto is tackling everyday problems in an already underserved economy. For many, digital assets are not about hedge portfolios. They are about survival.
The US and the EU are looking for the wrong way
Compare the above with the US and the EU. In the US and the EU, trade funds for exchange between Bitcoin and Ethereum, institutional custody, and regulatory turf wars usually dominate the debate on digital assets.
This is a misreading of the global landscape. These issues may be important for major financial markets, but in one part of the world it is very useless for people without banks or gig workers who send remittances and other people.
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When industry leaders claim that “mainstream adoption” is achieved through something like ETFs, they overlook the adoption has already arrived, not where Wall Street sees it.
The next billion users don’t care about Spot Ethereum ETFs, but rather the basic everyday tools that allow them to send money home to their families without losing a week’s wage for brokerage fees.
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This shift could have an impact on monumental markets. Exchanges for projects built only with the Western market in mind can inadvertently block themselves from one of the world’s fastest growing user bases.
These projects and exchanges are already busy and fighting for some of the established market, but ignore areas that have not attracted sufficient attention. This is where true growth and rapid recruitment will occur over the next few years.
The true story of mainstream adoption
Of course, the above submissions do not mean that developed markets are no longer of importance. If anything, institutional capital and regulated access are important parts of the crypto economy. But they are not a major part of the adoption story.
At its heart is a taxi driver in Lagos who use stubcoins to avoid depreciation of Naira, or an owner of a small store in Buenos Aires who protect themselves from triple girders inflation. Or workers who send money from abroad without paying a 7% fee to legacy brokers.
In 2024, the remittances alone were worth more than $685 billion, according to the World Bank.
If transaction costs are reduced by just 1%, there are billions more in the hands of those who need it the most. This is possible with Crypto. This is cheap and fast. That’s why over a million merchants in places like the Philippines have accepted digital currency for payments through mobile wallet-related platforms.
This population should not be considered a new cohort of retailers. They are the core market. Even regulators in developing countries are trying to move quickly. The Nigerian central bank recently set up a regulated sandbox and issued several new virtual asset licenses.
This grassroots activity has far more chances to restructure finance than the launch of its proud ETF. Still, the industry treats these markets as secondary, despite being the main location where Crypto’s original financial inclusion goals are being tested.
Stop chasing the wrong market
The best way forward is for the industry to improve its priorities. Instead of tweaking all your products for Wall Street investors, you need to build a powerful, simple, mobile-first infrastructure around the world. This means prioritizing low-cost money transfer corridors, seamless fiat-on-ramps, and developing educational resources for groups that we consider as lifelines rather than lottery tickets.
The future of global finance should be written not by traditional fiscal Titans, but by everyday users of emerging economies who have discovered tools of true economic empowerment. Now, the question is not whether or not the mainstream adoption of digital assets will occur, but who will be smarter among enough players to identify where that mainstream really exists.
There was never a real frontier on Wall Street. It has always been and has always been. Ignoring this reality is not merely myopic. That’s reckless. If the crypto industry claims to be building a global financial infrastructure, it cannot be designed exclusively for the richest markets.
Platforms that cater to real-world needs define the future of countries with the weakest financial systems. That’s where Crypto already works.
Opinion: Maksym Sakharov, Group CEO of Wefi.
This article is for general informational purposes and is not intended to be considered legal or investment advice, and should not be done. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect or express Cointregraph’s views and opinions.
