Cryptocurrencies and financial inclusion in Uganda

Abstract

Crypto currencies are becoming a very major topic of interest in both the financial and academic fields worldwide. The overarching aim of this study was to examine the influence of crypto currencies for financial inclusion in the Ugandan economy whilst addressing a few majorly dominating crypto currencies worldwide such as the bitcoin. The main objective of this research was to identify the drivers and barriers of Bitcoin adoption as a form of financial inclusion in Uganda. The study addressed the following specific objectives: (1) To identify the factors that drive adoption of Bitcoin in Uganda; and (2) To examine the barriers to Bitcoin adoption in Uganda. This study used a single case study research design. This research methodology is used to understand new, innovative, and more complex issues within the context of real life by analyzing a small number of events or conditions. The study used a triangulation concept to guarantee that different sources of evidence like website content, press articles, and case studies are used. This facilitates the validation of data through cross verification combining several methods to be used in the same phenomenon studied. This study used a purposive sampling method focusing on Bitcoin. The study‘s findings presented in table 1 and figures 6 and 7 show the adoption rates of Bitcoin in terms of trade volumes as compiled by biticoinity.org reveal that worldwide the adoption rates of Bitcoin are still low and the same applies to Uganda. Out of all the exchange forms of Bitcoin, bitfinex stands out as the most highly adopted mode of Bitcoin exchange with 23% of the market share and 24.3 million US dollar in terms of trade volume. The study hence recommends future studies on crypto currencies for financial inclusion in the Ugandan economy.