Africa’s largest economic integration project, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), is taking a major step toward digital transformation. The bloc has begun adopting stablecoin-powered settlement tools built on the IOTA network, part of a sweeping initiative known as ADAPT, developed with the Tony Blair Institute and the World Economic Forum. The ambition behind the project is bold: double intra-African trade by 2035 and create $23.6 billion in annual economic gains through digitalization.
The move signals a shift away from the paper-heavy systems that have dominated African trade for decades. Many cross-border processes still rely on handwritten forms, manual inspections, and fragmented verification systems, factors that increase costs, slow commerce, and leave room for document fraud. ADAPT aims to replace this entirely with decentralized digital infrastructure powered by IOTA’s feeless ledger and USDT stablecoin payments, ensuring faster and more reliable settlement between participating nations.
Early trials hint at how impactful the shift could be. Pilot programs in Kenya and Rwanda have already demonstrated measurable efficiency gains. Kenyan exporters saved roughly $400 per month once the paperwork burden was removed, and border processing times fell from nearly six hours to around 30 minutes thanks to automated, tamper-proof documentation.
The initial expansion phase will bring the system to Kenya, Ghana, and an additional North African nation, before scaling to all 55 AfCFTA member states. By 2035, the initiative aims to deliver unified, continent-wide digital trade rails that radically reduce friction for businesses of all sizes.
The economic potential is significant. Analysts working with ADAPT forecast as much as $70 billion in new trade valueunlocked through streamlined logistics, better compliance, and modernized financing. Stablecoins play a key role here, offering African businesses a way to settle transactions without being exposed to local currency volatility or slow international banking systems. With dependable digital settlement, small and medium-sized enterprises could gain access to cheaper capital and operate with greater financial stability.
What’s emerging is a blueprint for large-scale blockchain adoption rooted in real economic needs—not speculation. If successful, AfCFTA’s stablecoin-powered trade network could become one of the world’s most substantial real-world crypto use cases, reshaping African commerce and positioning the continent at the forefront of digital trade infrastructure.
