While much of Western financial media has spent 2026 focused on Bitcoin’s crash from its October 2025 all-time high near $126,000, Trezor Academy is telling a different story. Their documentary, “Seeding Bitcoin: Trezor Academy and Africa’s Bitcoin Revolution,” follows educators, merchants, and community members across Sub-Saharan Africa who use Bitcoin as a functional monetary tool rather than a speculative asset.
The film captures Bitcoin education centers in South Africa where students as young as teenagers complete a Bitcoin diploma course and receive weekly rewards in bitcoin — some of which they use to buy groceries for their families. It profiles a shopkeeper who was skeptical until a local educator introduced him to stablecoin settlement, and a woman who traveled 14 hours to attend a grassroots Bitcoin conference.
The common thread is exclusion from the existing financial system. Speakers describe populations — refugees, orphans, people without formal addresses or government-issued ID — who can’t access bank accounts, credit, or formal payment infrastructure. “Bitcoin doesn’t recognize if you’re poor or rich, what color your skin is, whether you have some government ID or not,” one participant said.
The numbers back this up. Chainalysis recorded more than $205 billion in on-chain value received across Sub-Saharan Africa in the year to mid-2025, up around 52% year-on-year — the third-fastest regional growth rate globally. A larger share of those transfers fell under $10,000 than in any other region, consistent with everyday individual use rather than institutional flows.
Remittance costs tell part of the story. Sending $200 to Sub-Saharan Africa through traditional channels carries fees close to 9%, the highest of any region according to the World Bank. On Bitcoin’s Lightning Network, the equivalent transfer costs pennies. Currency instability adds another dimension — when Nigeria’s naira was devalued in March 2025, on-chain volume spiked as people moved savings out of local currency.
Trezor Academy has run more than 300 meetups, graduated over 2,000 students, and now operates in more than 30 countries. Alongside the documentary release, Trezor has added a donation option to its online shop, with all proceeds going toward workshops and meetups in the Global South.
