Peer-to-peer (P2P) exchanges are the most popular way to buy bitcoin in Africa. Ever wondered what P2P platform is the best to use since there are so many options to choose from?
We have been looking into that too, and we compiled the top five P2P cryptocurrency exchanges in Africa.Â
What is a P2P Exchange?
A P2P exchange is a decentralized platform that directly connects buyers and sellers without intermediary or third parties. It gives total control to traders and makes trading cryptocurrencies possible everywhere. Traders decide what payment method to use, and other terms needed to make the trade possible.
P2P cryptocurrency exchanges in Africa are very popular because of the uncertainty surrounding cryptocurrency regulation. Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, and South Africa are some of the world’s top P2P markets.
Peer-to-peer exchanges play the role of an escrow during trades. To clarify, an escrow ensures that all trading parties fulfill their part of the trade terms.
P2P platforms intervene by solving disputes when a trader gets cheated, or the other party does not meet the trade terms.
The top P2P cryptocurrency exchanges in Africa for buying and selling cryptocurrencies are Remitano, Paxful, Binance P2P, LocalCryptos, CryptoLocally, and LocalBitcoins.
Breakdown – List of top P2P exchanges in Africa
1. Paxful
At the time of writing, Paxful is the biggest P2P exchange in Africa. Paxful was established in 2015 in the USA and has since become a go-to site to buy and sell bitcoin.Â
The marketplace allows you to trade bitcoin with over 300 payment methods, including bank transfer, mobile money, Chipper Cash, PayPal, Mpesa, and Western Union.
Paxful charges a 1% trading fee for users selling bitcoin on the platform. The bitcoin P2P exchange has more offers compared to the other platforms on this list because it has more trading volume.
The larger volume gives you access to more trading offers, payment options, and competitive prices.
Paxful highlights:
- 300+ payment methods
- Trade bitcoin (BTC) only
- KYC verification is required
- 1% trading fee
*Use our this link to sign up on Paxful and receive $5 at the end of your first month – You have to complete KYC verification and one trade.
For more on this platform, check out our Paxful review.
2. Binance P2P
Binance P2P is relatively new; however, the Binance platform is not. Binance is the largest centralized cryptocurrency exchange in the world based on trading volume.
The platform has launched a peer-to-peer trading section called Binance P2P to enable easier access to the Binance ecosystem.
Binance P2P is currently live in Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa with plans to expand to more countries. It supports a little over 60 payment methods, including bank transfer, Mpesa, and Chipper Cash.
What’s more, Binance P2P allows you to trade bitcoin (BTC), binance coin (BNB), binance USD (BUSD), ethereum (ETH), tether USD (USDT), EOS (EOS).
Further, Binance P2P requires identity verification for every user.
Binance P2P highlights:
- 60+ payment methods
- Trade BTC, BNB, BUSD, ETH, USDT, and EOS.
- KYC verification is required
- 0 trading fees
*Use this link below to sign up on Binance to get a 20% discount on all trades on the platform.
3. Remitano
Remitano is another popular P2P platform used in Africa. It is currently available in 13 countries with a key focus on the South African and Nigerian markets.
The exchange built-in 2016 by Babylon Solutions is based in Seychelles. Traders can sell and buy over 15 cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin (BTC), ethereum (ETH), tether (USDT), litecoin (LTC), and binance coin (BNB).
Remitano takes a 1% fee on trades with no additional charge added to the cryptocurrency asset’s price. What’s more, the platform uses strict KYC and security policies to prevent escrow fraud.
Remitano highlights:
- Multiple payment methods
- Trade BTC, BNB, BCH ETH, USDT, and more.
- KYC verification is required
- 1% trading fee
For more on this platform, check out our Remitano review.
4. LocalCryptos
LocalCryptos was known as LocalEthereum in its early days. It was initially built a P2P exchange for trading ethereum (ETH) only. The platform later rebranded to LocalCryptos, adding bitcoin (BTC) and litecoin (LTC).
LocalCryptos is a non-custodial peer-to-peer cryptocurrency exchange. This tag means that you do not have to deposit your crypto directly on the platform to sell.
Also, you are not required to verify your identity to use LocalCryptos. Compared to Paxful, LocalCryptos has fewer payment methods, even though it continues to expand aggressively.
Sellers pay a 0.25% trading fee while buyers pay a 0.75% trading fee.Â
LocalCryptos highlights:
- 60+ payment methods
- Trade BTC, ETH, and LTC.
- No KYC verification
- 0.25% seller and 0.75% trading fee
CREATE AN ACCOUNT ON LOCALCRYPTOS
5. CryptoLocally
CryptoLocally was launched in October 2019 as EOSLocally and later rebranded to its current name. EOS (EOS), binance coin (BNB), ethereum (ETH), tether USD (USDT), Dai (DAI), USD Coin (USDC) trading is supported on the P2P exchange.
CryptoLocally is also non-custodial. You do not have to deposit your crypto on the platform to trade. CryptoLocally charges lesser trading fees compared to most of the platforms on this list.
Over 40 payment options are available on CryptoLocally. You can send or accept payments with Mpesa, Chipper cash, Sesacash, WorldRemit, Western Union, and more.
CryptoLocally highlights:
- 40+ payment methods
- Trade over 15 cryptocurrencies (BNB, TRON, BTC, ETH, EOS, and more).
- No KYC verification
- 0.99% trading fee
CREATE AN ACCOUNT ON CRYPTOLOCALLY
For more on this platform, check out our CryptoLocally Review.
6. LocalBitcoins
LocalBitcoins is the first platform to allow person-to-person bitcoin exchange. It was the largest platform in Africa but has lost market share over the years.
Regardless, several people use LocalBitcoins to buy and sell bitcoin (BTC) all over the world. The platform has strict KYC verification requirements, which makes it inaccessible to many. What’s more, it has a limited range of supported payment methods, even though it has been around for a more extended period.
Similar to Paxful, LocalBitcoins charges the seller a 1% fee per trade.
LocalBitcoins highlights:
- 35+ payment methods
- Trade bitcoin (BTC) only
- KYC verification is required.
- 1% trading fee
CREATE AN ACCOUNT ON LOCALBITCOINS
Honorable Mentions
Aside from the P2P exchanges that made our list, there are others worth mentioning. BuyCoins Africa is a Nigerian based P2P and centralized exchange that has been growing over the years. BuyCoins Africa is currently available in Nigeria only.
Bottom line – What is the best P2P exchange in Africa?
The best P2P exchange depends on several factors. When selecting a P2P platform, you have to consider the trading fees, payment methods, available offers, trading volume, and KYC requirements.
Paxful is the largest platform with several payment options and offers available. However, it supports only bitcoin trading and has a higher trading fee.
Binance P2P is a good option to explore even though it has lesser trade volume because it is new. Being part of the Binance ecosystem means that you get access to other services like a spot and futures trading exchange. This prevents the usual process of buying coins via P2P marketplaces and moving them to another platform to trade. It is time-consuming and attracts extra cost through transaction fees.
LocalCryptos and CryptoLocally give you access to more cryptocurrencies with no KYC requirements and better security since you do not have to deposit crypto on the platform.
The best thing about P2P exchanges in Africa is that you can compare prices and trade between different platforms. It is best practice to check a couple of these platforms for competitive prices to make the most out of your trades.
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