• Opera-backed stablecoin app MiniPay rides Africa demand to 15 million wallets

    Opera-backed stablecoin app MiniPay rides Africa demand to 15 million wallets
    A man using the MiniPay app on his phone/Image Source: Freepik

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    MiniPay, the Opera-backed stablecoin wallet and payments app that operates in seven African markets, has crossed 15 million activated wallets, more than double from the previous year.

    The 123% year-on-year jump extends the app’s growth after it crossed 13 million wallets by the end of 2025, according to Opera’s Q1 2026 report.

    Launched in Nigeria in September 2023 as part of the Opera Mini browser before becoming a standalone app last year, MiniPay has emerged as one of the most widely used stablecoin payment products focused on emerging markets, with the majority of its users in Africa, according to Opera.

    It underscores how Africa has become one of the world’s most active testing grounds for crypto payments and dollar savings products. Apps like MiniPay, Bitget Wallet, and UglyCash are betting that users in countries with volatile currencies and costly banking infrastructure will embrace dollar-denominated digital money for everyday use.

    “MiniPay launched first in Nigeria in 2023 and expanded first across Kenya and other key African markets before going global in 2025,” Murray Spark, Senior Director Business Development at Opera, told TechCabal in an email response on Tuesday.

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