Crypto Currency Uptake in Malawi

Malawi, one of the poorest countries in the world with a population of 18.09 million people is lagging behind in the crypto currency movement. Only a few individuals know about crypto and the economic benefits that can be realized from them. Skepticism of the crypto-currencies is very high among the few people (<1% of population) who have heard about bitcoin or altcoins. It will take probably 5 years or more before more people start adopting and investing in cryptocurrencies in Malawi; and 5 years is a long time considering how fast the crypto world is developing. The major reasons for this skepticism is largely to do with the high risk currently associated with crypto currency, and the lack of concrete knowledge about them despite having numerous web sources. In addition to this, being one of the most underdeveloped countries, e-commerce is also very limited. For example, shopping using VISA cards have only been around for less than 4 years; and this is only in a few selected retail shops, which are mainly foreign, i.e. Game Stores, Shoprite and others. This means that the Malawian population, of which more than 90% lives in rural areas and depends on subsistence agriculture, is far from investing in crypto-currencies.
However, with exorbitant bank costs i.e. interest rates of above 35% on loans, and huge monthly deductions on account holders, more people should be looking for alternatives that would bypass the current financial system. Crypto currencies are by far the best alternative to this. The difficult part is convicing people who are already burdened with a high cost of living, high taxes and very low incomes to invest in a high risk market such as this.