Bitcoin News
Lightning Network expansion in Africa
Strike and Bitnob scaling
Nigerian market friction
E-commerce friction in Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana forces up to 40% of online shoppers to abandon carts due to limited checkout options. Cross-border costs in these markets consume 10% of transaction values. Bitnob reduces this friction by providing APIs that allow developers to integrate digital asset payments into online stores. Bitnob reports an annualized total payment volume of $1.3 billion across its various digital asset channels. The Baki product allows businesses to exchange currencies at official rates to lower transaction costs. You should note that Bitnob enables merchants to receive local currency payouts, which removes exchange rate risk.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Bitnob Annualized Payment Volume | $1.3 billion |
| Nigerian E-commerce Abandonment Rate | 30-40% |
| Cross-border Cost Overhead (Nigeria/Kenya/Ghana) | 10% |
| Strike Series B Funding (Sept 2026) | $80 million |
The 28 flare-gas commercialization permits in Nigeria involve $2 billion in projected investment and aim to process between 250 and 300 million cubic feet of associated gas per day for on-site industrial power generation processes. This program targets the 30 million cubic feet of methane wasted daily in the Niger Delta. The permits authorize operators to process gas for LPG extraction and industrial electricity uses, which helps diversify the energy output from captured methane. Nigeria’s regulatory environment for blockchain has improved as the Securities and Exchange Commission published guidance and the Central Bank moderated its earlier restrictive positioning. Nigeria remains the leading crypto market in Africa, receiving almost $60 billion of the $117.1 billion in crypto value circulated across the continent between July 2022 and June 2023.
Infrastructure and connectivity
The African mining landscape also changes. Ethiopia holds 2.7% of the global Bitcoin network hashrate, ranking as the 8th-largest mining country. The Ethiopian Electric Power halted new crypto mining permits in December 2025 because the sector’s electricity draw approached the utility’s capacity ceiling. Existing licensed operators continue to run and expand within their approved allocations. Ethiopia hosts approximately 23 operational mining facilities as of mid-2026, which allows for scaling within the region. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam has helped drive total generation capacity to approximately 7,910 MW, which is a major increase from the 4,500 MW seen pre-dam. Ethiopian mining electricity sales generated approximately $55 million in revenue in a 10-month period. Nigeria manages different growth through petro-mining, with 28 permits for gas-flaring commercialization and $2 billion in projected investment. Mobile money covers over 70% of the population in many developing nations, but 63% of Africans still lack mobile internet access. South Africa’s digital economy thrives due to advanced infrastructure and an active startup ecosystem. Does the lack of connectivity limit the reach of the Lightning Network despite the high mobile money penetration?
