Ultimate Resource For Bitcoin’s Impact In Africa And The African-American Community

The issue of race when it comes to cryptocurrency is a sensitive one, and not without reason. Ultimate Resource For Bitcoin’s Impact In Africa And The African-American Community

The African-American community is largely born at an economic disadvantage, with a legacy financial system fueled by unethical practices like redlining, among many others. However, cryptocurrencies may give them the opportunity to eventually level the playing field.

Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter, is no stranger to controversy himself. His platform currently hosts 330 million people around the world, and his individual followers currently number just over 4.3 million. On Sunday, he used that influence to promote a new book discussing Bitcoin’s potential benefits to the African-American community.

Bitcoin & Black America, written by Isaiah Jackson, offers an analysis of the role cryptocurrency can play with African-Americans, a group historically underserved by major financial institutions. Yet, the author notes, black people in the U.S. have largely not utilized cryptocurrency to try and achieve financial autonomy.

The Perception Of Cryptocurrency Among African Americans Needs To Change

Excellent interview with @bitcoinzay on his book #Bitcoin And Black America. https://t.co/4gGL8MAP5G

— jack 🌍🌏🌎 (@jack) February 23, 2020

One of the problems, according to Jackson, is the perception of cryptocurrency among the African-American community. They are not the only ones to see Bitcoin as a scam, with new schemes continuing to exploit lack of regulatory oversight popping up in the news. Misinformation coupled with a lack of banking access has made investing in cryptocurrency a challenge among black people in the United States. Jackson says this must change going forward.

Updated: 3-23-2020

The Blockchain Africa Participants Optimistic About Continent Becoming Center of Progress

The Blockchain Africa conference produced a swathe of optimism for Africa to become a driving force behind the development and use of new blockchain-powered technologies.

Over the past few years, blockchain has replaced cryptocurrency as the “it” word in the fintech space. It is a fact that was mirrored by the Blockchain Africa conference itself, with speakers focusing more on the possibilities of blockchain answering a number of industry inefficiencies, and far less on cryptocurrency trading and tokenized solutions.

Africa has its own unique challenges in the global space given that many of its countries are trailing behind the rest of the world in infrastructure development. While the asymmetric digital subscriber lines and fiber internet connectivity is still being rolled out in many countries, mobile tower services have driven the proliferation of mobile payments systems.

To say that Africans have taken to these services would be an understatement. The M-Pesa mobile payment service is a prime example that shows Africans can quickly adopt technologies that improve their day-to-day lives. Mobile network provider Vodafone estimates that over 37 million people across seven African countries currently use M-Pesa, which was launched in 2007.

Black Blockchain Consultants Founder Cheree Warrick

This is just one example of how people in Africa have benefitted from a future-forward solution to build a bridge to the people that are unbanked on the continent. In general, fintech solutions are being readily adopted and driven by African countries and companies.

As Cointelegraph reported in an event recap of the Blockchain Africa conference, blockchain technology is already being explored by trade finance, supply chain and self-sovereign identity sectors. Here are the main use cases that can be observed right now:

A Solution For Africa’s ID problems

The issue of Self-Sovereign Identity is a particularly interesting one in an African context, given the difficulty many people on the continent face when trying to obtain ID documentation. By way of definition, SSI refers to a situation where individuals hold and control their own identification credentials.

Victor Mapunda, CEO and founder of startup FlexFinTx, made a compelling case for a move to digital-based identities at the Blockchain Africa conference.

In his presentation, data quoted by Mapunda estimates that nearly 400 million Africans do not have proper identification credentials. This then leads to a multitude of difficulties, as these people are unable to open bank accounts, apply for insurance or other financial products.

Being banked and having insurance is a luxury when considering the deeper problems that are plaguing the continent. Referring to information supplied by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, only eight African countries have birth registration systems that cover 90% of the population.

Deidra McIntyre Founded Black People & Cryptocurrency

Countries like Chad and Tanzania are only able to cover 12% of births in the country. Conversely, Egypt, Mauritius and Seychelles are the only three African countries that register deaths covering more than 90% of their population.

The key takeaway is that there is a sizable gap in providing Africans with vital identification documentation, which is primarily due to institutional inefficiencies. Data capturing and information sharing is therefore impacted, leaving various institutions lacking in information, unable to serve the public needs efficiently.

Mapunda hails from Zimbabwe and began exploring the issue of SSI when he faced his own difficulties in trying to register a bank account after studying abroad. FlexFinTx seeks to provide people with a digital ID through WhatsApp, which facilitates the issuance of a FlexID that is cryptographically secured by the Algorand blockchain.

Users then have self-sovereign control over how their data is shared. Speaking to Cointelegraph after his presentation, Mapunda said that African people can quickly take to solutions that solve wide-ranging problems:

“I think Africans, when it comes to adoption of technology, are some of the most dynamic people in the world, this is because, for the most part, we don’t have a lot of legacy infrastructure and institutions. Most of the things we’ve grown up with didn’t work.”

Mapunda pointed to innovations such as mobile money and internet-based communication applications drastically improving Africans’ quality of life, saying, “Mobile money is a great example. We jumped on it,” and adding that no one even had to market it to the population. He went on to expand further:

“WhatsApp is a very good example of an application that didn’t have a single billboard, yet it managed to spread like wildfire across Africa. It solved a major problem — the cost of communication was too expensive and it’s a natural solution that people gravitate to.”

An Answer To Supply Chain Challenges

Blockchain technology has long been touted as a key tool in improving current supply chain systems across the world. In the past three years, major strides have been conducted in this regard, providing real use cases to back up the theory.

The subject was covered extensively at the Blockchain Africa conference and was particularly important considering the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area in May last year.

The move created a free-trade area that now includes 28 African countries, which requires member states to remove tariffs to provide the free trade of goods and services. While it improves the ease of trade, there are still some hurdles to clear in the trade finance and supply chain.

Thavash Govender, a data and AI specialist at Microsoft South Africa, spoke to Cointelegraph during the summit and said that blockchain technology could hold a number of benefits for trade across the continent:

“The one challenge that we have at the moment is trust between different countries. If I’m going to drop my trade barriers and say you can bring all your products into my country, I need to know that we aren’t allowing counterfeit goods in.”

Perhaps more importantly, Govender suggested that systems that are improved through the use of blockchain technology could drastically reduce the amount of time it takes for trade to take place due to inefficiencies in various processes, elaborating:

“If I’m an SME, I’m going to open up to a whole bunch of institutions that I just don’t know. If we’re all part of the same blockchain consortium, then I know I can trust what is written on the chain. Because I can trust the information, I can move a lot quicker. It’s not going to take me weeks of investigation, so I can grant loans quicker or get the trade finance process going a lot faster.”

Public Procurement And Corruption

Another interesting implementation of blockchain technology is in the space of public procurement by government organizations. Corruption is not a uniquely African problem, but it is one that affects many countries on the continent.

Sope Williams-Elegbe, a professor and deputy director of the African Procurement Law Unit at Stellenbosch University, gave a presentation on the possibilities of blockchain addressing corruption in public procurement.

Williams-Elegbe said that 15%–22% of South Africa’s gross domestic product goes to public procurement. The problem is that the country loses 50% of this to corruption and fraud.

The professor believes that blockchain could be used to address procurement corruption but admitted that there are few to no use cases as of now. There is a lack of technical applications for public procurement, and it presents an opportunity for new solutions.

Forget The Hype, Build On Working Tech

Michelle Nsanzumuco, who acts as a senior advisor to the government of Bermuda and the Africa lead for Fintech4Good, spoke about a number of the sectors described above as being potential drivers of blockchain technology.

In an interview with Cointelegraph, Nsanzumuco highlighted supply chain and logistics as the key industry that can leverage blockchain due to the complexities of trade created by the sheer number of players in a value chain.

Nsanzumuco said that a number of entrepreneurs and SMEs that she has interacted with often complained about the difficulties they face when conducting trade inside their own country:

“They’re finding barriers just within their own countries because they’re dealing with so many different players, fill in so much documentation before they can even get their products from A to B. Now we haven’t even talked about cross-border transactions and trade. I can see it being a very strong use case for Africa specifically around supply chain and health care.”

Nsanzumuco added that blockchain solutions could improve the way health care systems track vaccinations and medications. Another factor is improving government services by digitizing a variety of manual data-capturing processes. Additionally, while strongly agreeing that the continent could be a leader in the blockchain space, Nsanzumuco cautioned against touting “blockchain” tech because of its marketability:

“A big warning for me having traveled around the world is not getting caught up in the hype. Let’s leverage real solutions in particular sectors where it can have an impact in Africa.”

Updated: 5-6-2020

Why Binance And Akon Are Betting On Africa For Crypto Adoption

CEO Yele Bademosi And CTO Taiwo Orilogbon Discuss Business At The Bundle Offices. 

With some 60% of Africa’s 1.25 billion people under the age of 25, local traders, as well as crypto behemoths, are placing their bets on future growth.

While some nations have openly declared their support for cryptocurrencies, most countries have either issued complete or partial bans. The most common position, however, is one of caution. Countries such as Kenya, Ghana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe have warned its citizens about cryptocurrencies without actively banning crypto trading or use.

Other countries such as Namibia and Burundi, while also not banning usage, have issued bans against trading, citing lack of consumer protection.

Similar to what we see in Kenya, a statement from the Ugandan government referred to “One Coin Digital Money,” as a cryptocurrency alongside Bitcoin, Litecoin (LTC) and XRP, among others, putting them all on equal footing as cryptocurrencies. OneCoin was a notorious multilevel marketing scheme that allowed “representatives” to earn incentives from selling memberships for an enterprise with no genuine product.

Taking a critical look at these countries, we could infer that Ponzi schemes have tainted the reputation of legitimate crypto projects and may be slowing things down. Paxful CEO Ray Youssef spoke with Cointelegraph on the subject. Paxful is a leading peer-to-peer crypto exchange platform that has the highest growth of P2P trading in Africa so far by providing on-ramps and off-ramps for cryptocurrencies within the region:

“We ought to understand that regulators are just starting to figure cryptocurrencies out. Many of them have just begun their exploration and they hear about this in the worst possible ways, especially in Africa. Because nine out of 10 people you talk to in Africa have been scammed in a cryptocurrency-involved scam or know someone who has been scammed. That’s a huge number, but then you consider the proliferation of multi-level marketing scams that operate upon Africa like OneCoin, this infamous Ponzi […] plus the crypto mining scams. Everyone in Africa has been scammed.”

Youssef Also Added That Corruption Ranks As One Of The Factors Slowing Down The Regulation Of Cryptocurrencies Within The Region:

“Unfortunately in Africa, things are a little different from in the West. Everyone wants to wet their beak a little bit at the table, and that’s how regulators think […] and that’s a challenge for people in the African crypto space.”

Possible Catalysts To Speedy Regulation

Despite the regulatory weakness, it has become obvious that the region has seen a continuous increase in interest in cryptocurrencies. Countries such as Nigeria constantly rank first in online searches for “Bitcoin” as seen on Google Trends. A Sept. 10 blockchain analytics report from Chainalysis indicates that Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya cumulatively lead the continent in monthly crypto transfers, which totaled $316 million in June.

Africa’s interest in crypto could also likely be fueled by factors, such as worsening inflation, high remittance fees, low financial inclusion and political instability, among other factors, which, in turn, have made things difficult for the average person in sub-Saharan Africa. These would hasten the decisions of regulatory bodies in the future.

Hyperinflation 

Inflation rates across the continent have historically been much higher than the global average. An extreme example would be Zimbabwe’s hyperinflation, which led Zimbabweans to a desperate search for a store of value even as the pandemic has increased economic uncertainties.

High Remittance Fees 

This is another factor that could hasten the decision of regulators, as they already have a growing market. According to a report from the World Bank, remittances worth less than $200 to sub-Saharan countries cost an average of about 9% compared to a global average of 6.8%, while payments between countries cost even more. For example, sending money from South Africa to Zambia costs 18% of the value of the money sent.

Political Instability 

Not only does political instability exacerbate inflation and currency volatility, but it can also result in forced migration, GDP collapse and wealth confiscation, all of which lead to an intensified search for sound money to preserve wealth. This increased attention would, in turn, hasten the hand of regulatory bodies to make a decision. According to data from the World Bank, just 10 of Africa’s 53 nations have a positive score on the political stability index.

The challenges of hyperinflation, high remittance fees and economic instability are more pronounced in sub-Saharan Africa than other parts of the world. These issues put more financial pressure on the average citizen — pressure that makes regular people search for options for a safer financial future. Faster response from regulators can, therefore, be linked to the astonishing increase in the people showing interest in cryptocurrencies, which are now seen as an escape route from the harsh realities facing most Africans.

The situation in various countries within Africa is similar, as they mostly fall under regulators that are undecided when it comes to crypto. Most countries within sub-Saharan Africa have wavered. Below is an overview of what regulations in some of the largest crypto markets in sub-Saharan Africa feel like so far.

Nigeria

In a recent report, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Nigeria officially issued regulatory guidelines for digital currencies and crypto-based companies or startups. According to Nigeria’s capital market and investment regulator, the aim is to protect investors and create standards for ethical practices. The commission also added that it will regulate “all Digital Assets Token Offerings, Initial Coin Offerings, Security Token ICOs, and other Blockchain-based offers of digital assets within Nigeria.” Every crypto asset in Nigeria will be treated as securities unless the company or startup can prove otherwise. This development is a far cry from what was obtainable before now.

In 2017, the commission had taken a more antagonistic approach. It warned citizens to be cautious while investing in cryptocurrencies, as they might experience “financial losses” without guaranteed protection from the regulatory body. That same year, Nigeria’s central bank warned local banks against doing business in digital currencies. Meanwhile, the increasing adoption of cryptocurrencies in the country has brought with it a rise in bad actors seeking to exploit unsuspecting citizens.

However, it’s likely that interest in crypto from its citizens may have driven Nigerian regulators to latch on to this budding market.

South Africa

Before Nigeria, South Africa had been the sub-Saharan jurisdiction most receptive to cryptocurrencies. In December 2014, the South African Reserve Bank put out a paper stating its position on virtual currencies. The SARB affirmed that it alone has the right to issue any legal tender and that decentralized convertible virtual currencies don’t constitute legal tender in South Africa. The SARB stated, “Only the Bank is allowed to issue legal tender i.e banknotes and coins in RSA, which can be legally offered in payment of an obligation and that a creditor is obliged to accept. Therefore the decentralised convertible virtual currencies are not legal tenders in RSA.” This was confirmed again by the SARB in its statement in 2017 as it confirmed that it does not recognize cryptocurrency as “currency” or “legal tender” in South Africa.

Continuing the trend of inconsistency, however, the Minister of Finance in South Africa distributed authority over crypto beyond the SARB. The Minister noted in mid-2017 in Parliament that “the National Treasury together with the SARB, [Financial Intelligence Centre], and [Financial Services Board] also established an Intergovernmental Fintech Working Group in December 2016, to develop an approach and revised policy stance towards fintech, including crypto-currencies.”

The country has been trying to affix a pro-crypto stance recently, as seen in a policy paper released by South Africa’s Intergovernmental Fintech Working Group, financial regulators in the country recommended “that crypto assets remain without legal tender status” in a roadmap outlining what could become the nation’s first comprehensive crypto laws.

Zimbabwe

Though many of the nations of sub-Saharan Africa have changed their attitude toward crypto recently, Zimbabwe has seen perhaps the most striking thaw in recent years.

The government banned crypto in 2018. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe instructed the private banks of Zimbabwe’s largest virtual currency exchange, Golix, to close its accounts and made Golix itself refund its customers.

Nonetheless, peer-to-peer trading of cryptocurrencies continues to grow in Zimbabwe as the country’s monetary policies falter. In mid-2019, the crypto rush in Zimbabwe reached such a high that rumors about Bitcoin’s price reaching a 600% premium began to spread.

In its monetary policy statement from February, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe revealed that its focus was on stabilizing its currency. Having suffered massive hyperinflation that peaked in 2007, the bank appears intent on eradicating the volatility of its exchange rate through the establishment of a currency stabilization task force. According to the RBZ, exchange rate stabilization will result in a corresponding decrease in inflation, thus leading to significant economic recovery for the country.

Consequently, Zimbabwe has made somewhat of a U-turn in its crypto policy. A local news source reports that the RBZ is reportedly developing a regulatory sandbox for cryptocurrency companies in the country.

Other Parts of Africa

For other parts of sub-Saharan Africa, the situation seems to be pretty much the same. As regulators take their time to wrap their heads around this technology and how its implementation can influence the dynamics of their economic scene, citizens are seeing it as a haven for reasons ranging from remittances to hyperinflation.

As of last year, Ghana’s Securities and Exchange Commission confirmed that cryptocurrencies were still unregulated, issuing a public warning to investors in March 2019. Meanwhile, the regulatory space for cryptocurrencies in Kenya is currently nonexistent, with only a warning from its regulator for individuals and organizations to steer clear of transacting in digital currencies.

What The Future Holds For Africa

For the most part, the neutral regulatory stance on crypto in most countries within sub-Saharan Africa is due to a lack of education. However, it appears that this will not remain so for much longer. The level of interest from its citizens is growing. Beyond the need to hold cryptocurrencies for speculative reasons, Africa seems to be the region with the greatest need for cryptocurrency use cases. This increasing demand will play a key role in hastening regulation across the continent. With Africa’s most populous country, Nigeria, newly involved in the space, we may be about to witness a cascade of regulation from other parts of sub-Saharan Africa.

Updated: 11-24-2020

Nigeria Is Establishing A Framework For Widescale Crypto Adoption

Africa’s largest economy has become a bastion for crypto adoption.

Nigeria’s Finance Ministry is reportedly in talks with the country’s securities regulator to develop a new framework for blockchain and cryptocurrencies — a move that could accelerate adoption in Africa’s largest economy.

Business Day, a Nigerian market intelligence publication, reported Tuesday that the Ministry of Finance is working with the Abuja-based Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, to “provide a regulatory environment for blockchain” and digital assets. The publication cites Ministry adviser Amstrong Takang speaking at an industry event in Lagos on Tuesday.

Digital assets are recognized as commodities and governed by appropriate securities law in Nigeria following the SEC’s stunning edict on the matter back in September. At the time, the SEC said its role was to regulate this new asset class, not hinder adoption or innovation.

According To SEC Nigeria:

“The general objective of regulation is not to hinder technology or stifle innovation, but to create standards that encourage ethical practices that ultimately make for a fair and efficient market.”

Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies are witnessing growing adoption in Nigeria as the country struggles with capital controls, devaluation and new protests targeting police corruption.

Nigerian officials appear keen on adopting blockchain, with hopes of generating $10 billion in revenue from the new technology by 2030.

Updated: 12-02-2020

Everyone’s Talking Crypto For Solving Sub-Saharan Africa’s Payments Problems

Stablecoins and continentwide regulations are key to breaking down barriers to Africa’s economic growth.

As global interest in stablecoins explodes, a number of key players are pushing especially hard for more adoption in Sub-Saharan Africa.

On Thursday, the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Africa Program published new analysis advocating more options for crypto users in sub-Saharan Africa. CSIS is a well-known Washington, DC-based think tank.

The authors of the analysis, Judd Devermont and Topaz Mukulu, are extremely optimistic about the future role of crypto, specifically predicting that “Digital currencies almost certainly will become more common in general and in sub-Saharan Africa in particular.”

They conclude their analysis with a series of recommendations, including more education and standardization of regulation across the region’s many borders.

The same day, the G-20-founded advisory group the Financial Stability Board held a meeting for its Sub-Saharan Africa Group. Per its announcement, the group also discussed “the roadmap to enhance cross-border payments (Roadmap), including addressing regulatory and supervisory issues with respect to ‘global stablecoins.’”

The FSB had not responded to Cointelegraph’s request for meeting minutes as of publication time.

Sub-Saharan Africa features a number of countries that vary wildly in technological and economic development. Lacking a common currency or trade laws, borders become barriers to trade and growth. It is also the region that is most expensive to send money to; per think tank Brookings, remittances cost 8.9% of their value.

Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, has, correspondingly, been the most assertive in regulating blockchain and cryptocurrency usage.

Cointelegraph has previously noted the particular benefits that emerging technologies can offer throughout Africa.

Updated: 12-18-2020

Bitcoin Adoption In Nigeria Soars As Central Bank Blocks Remittances In Naira

The Central Bank of Nigeria’s “Naira defense” policy is pushing more Nigerians toward Bitcoin and crypto adoption.

Peer-to-peer Bitcoin (BTC) volume in Nigeria continues to rise as Africa’s largest economy remains a bastion for crypto adoption. According to Quartz Africa, data from the Bitcoin P2P marketplace Paxful show the country ranks second only to the United States in trading volume.

Since 2015, Nigerians have traded over 60,200 BTC on the Paxful platform amounting to about $566 million in volume over the period. Data from Coin Dance shows trading activity for the week ending Dec. 12 at 886.3 million naira (about $2.3 million).

Bitcoin’s growing appeal among Nigerians is likely due to a confluence of factors, chief of which are stringent forex policies by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as well as the rapid decline of the country’s fiat currency — the naira. In a communique issued on Dec. 16, the CBN directed international money transfer operators (IMTOs) to cease processing diaspora remittance payments in naira.

According to the central bank, the move is in line with the new policy of allowing Nigerians to receive international payments in their domiciliary accounts. The central bank also issued a notice declaring that two IMTOs — TransferWise and Azimo were not authorized to operate in the country.

While the CBN may be reversing some of its more stringent forex micromanagement policies, the scarcity caused by these previous banking laws seems to have pushed more Nigerians into alternative currencies. Indeed, Bitcoin adoption tends to soar in countries facing rising inflation and declining confidence in the national fiat currency.

With a median age of 18 years, Bitcoin likely offers an alternative for the tech-savvy young population against the mainstream banking and finance architecture under the control of the government. During the October protests against police brutality as the government ordered banks to freeze the accounts of the movement’s backers, protestors switched seamlessly to BTC and crypto donations.

According to data from Google Trends, Nigeria is still number one in terms of global search interest for Bitcoin. However, regulatory clarity for the crypto and blockchain space is yet to materialize in the country.

Back in September, the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced plans to create a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies in the country. At the time, the Commission declared that it would regulate crypto assets as securities unless proven otherwise.

Updated: 1-15-2021

Africa To Bring 100 Million Users To DeFi In Three Years From Now, Says Founder Of Cardano

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson predicts that the DeFi revolution will take place in the developing world.

Charles Hoskinson predicts that the Decentralized Finance sector will acquire 100 million users within the next three years by tapping into the developing world’s market potential.

“Who’s actually going to do peer-to-peer loans? Who’s actually going to do peer-to-peer insurance? Who’s actually gonna do peer-to-peer payments? I got news for you, not a guy living in New York”, pointed out Hoskinson in an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph.

Cardano, the decentralized cryptocurrency network founded by Hoskinson, intends to take the lead in the DeFi space by developing partnerships in the African continent.

According to Hoskinson, DeFi products lack a significant customer base and the field has no chance at gaining traction in the West because of a cumbersome regulatory environment.

On the contrary, developing countries offer a much more flexible regulatory framework which facilitates crypto innovation.

“There’s no JPMorgan Chase. There’s no big massive legacy financial system that dominates and controls”, he pointed out.

Ultimately, according to Hoskinson, DeFi can “create liquidity for the poorest people in the world and allow them to build wealth and protect the wealth that they’ve acquired”.

“We built Cardano for this purpose”, he concluded.

To find out more about our conversation with Charles Hoskinson, check out the full interview on our Youtube channel and remember to subscribe!

Updated: 2-5-2021

Central Bank of Nigeria Bans Banks From Servicing Crypto Exchanges

Nigeria’s central bank has prohibited commercial banks from providing account services to crypto exchanges.

The Central Bank of Nigeria has placed a ban on all regulated financial institutions from providing services to crypto exchanges in the country.

The prohibition was contained in a circular issued by the CBN on Friday. According to the central bank’s notice, the ruling is an extension of earlier warnings from the bank about the risks associated with digital currencies.

As part of the ban, the CBN has directed all commercial banks to close accounts belonging to crypto exchanges and other businesses transacting in cryptocurrencies in the country.

The CBN also warned of stiff penalties to any bank or financial institution that fails to comply with the directive.

Nigeria’s central bank did not respond immediately to Cointelegraph’s request for comments on the issue. However, in a previous piece of correspondence, Osita Nwanisobi, acting director of the CBN’s communications department, told Cointelegraph that commercial banks had previously been warned not to participate in the crypto market.

While cryptocurrencies have been popular in Nigeria, digital currencies came into national consciousness amid protests against police brutality in October 2020. At the time, the central bank ordered the suspension of bank accounts belonging to supporters of the EndSARS movement, prompting a switch to Bitcoin (BTC) and crypto donations.

As previously reported by Cointelegraph, Bitcoin adoption in Nigeria continues to increase. According to data from Google Trends, Nigeria is still number one in the world in terms of search interest for Bitcoin.

The CBN’s ban is also reminiscent of the actions taken by its Indian counterpart, the Reserve Bank of India, back in 2018. Two years later, India’s Supreme Court reversed the order.

Apart from the CBN ban, the only other crypto-related regulatory news to come out of Nigeria was back in September 2020. At the time, the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission recognized crypto as securities with plans to formulate a concrete legal framework for digital assets.

Updated: 2-11-2021

Bitcoin Has Made The Naira Almost Useless, Says Nigerian Senator

A cross-section of Nigerian senators have reacted to the recent Bitcoin ban enacted by the country’s central bank.

As previously reported by Cointelegraph, the Central Bank of Nigeria issued a circular banning banks from servicing crypto exchanges.

Reacting to the news during the Thursday plenary session, Senator Sani Musa of the Niger East Senatorial District remarked:

“Cryptocurrency has become a worldwide transaction of which you cannot even identify who owns what. The technology is so strong that I don’t see the kind of regulation that we can do. Bitcoin has made our currency almost useless or valueless.” – Senator Sani Musa

— The Nigerian Senate (@NGRSenate) February 11, 2021

For Senator Musa, Bitcoin (BTC) and not mounting foreign debt, decades of poor economic policies, and corruption are to blame for the naira’s decline. Meanwhile, Bitcoin adoption has been on the rise in the country amid questionable monetary policies adopted by the CBN.

Other senators who made their voices heard during the plenary session argued against the CBN ban. According to Sen. Biodun Olujimi of the Ekiti South Constituency, the goal of crypto regulation in Nigeria should be focused on preventing its use by rogue actors, adding:

“We didn’t create Cryptocurrency and so we cannot kill it and cannot also refuse to ensure it works for us. These children are doing great business with it and they are getting results and Nigeria cannot immune itself from this sort of business.”

The Nigerian Senate has resolved to invite the CBN governor to a hearing before the appropriate committees to discuss issues related to future crypto regulations in the country.

The CBN ban has been met with criticism from several stakeholders in the Nigerian crypto scene. Many exchange platforms have taken steps to disable fiat funding while encouraging their customers to utilize peer-to-peer channels for the time being.

Meanwhile, reports have begun to emanate of bank customers receiving notices of account closures for previous crypto activity. Indeed, the CBN directive did mandate banks to shut down accounts involved in crypto trading.

Updated: 2-14-2021

African Startup Investments Fall For First Time In Almost A Decade

Funding for African startups slowed for the first time after nearly 10 years of growth as investors in the fledgling tech scene were put off by the Covid-19 pandemic, according to venture capital firm Partech Partners.

Companies on the continent raised $1.43 billion in 2020, down 29% from a year ago, Partech Partners said in a report. Just two deals above $50 million closed last year compared with 10 in 2019.

“There were hardly any mega-rounds in the African tech ecosystem,” the Paris-based firm wrote in its annual survey of startups that have most of their operations in, or get the bulk of their revenue from Africa. “This sharp drop clearly marks the impact of the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns.”

Africa is now showing an inverse trend to much of the rest of the world, including the U.S. where startup investing reached a record high of $130 billion in 2020, up 14% from the previous year, according to a Pricewaterhouse Coopers/CB Insights report. In Europe and Israel, overall funding increased albeit in fewer companies, according to data from Pitchbook.

Africa’s technology sector is still relatively small, though represents one of the highest-growth areas for venture capital investment — investment into the region increased 74% in 2019 and more than doubled in 2018. Companies that have done well include those that aim at filling gaps, such as payment platforms that make up for a lack of access to conventional banking and businesses that take advantage of increasing internet access as more people get smartphones.

2021 may see a return of big deals, Partech Africa General Partner Tidjane Deme said. “Many startups who delayed fundraising to wait for better market conditions will be fundraising. So the deal-flow at growth stage should be larger than usual.”

Still, the region attracted some funding, despite investors’ reluctance to chip in on larger rounds. The total number of deals rose 44% in 2020 from a year ago, according to the report. Four African countries, including South Africa and Kenya, received 80% of the funds, while Nigeria got the bulk of the equity and Egypt signed the most deals.

Deals last year, where venture capitalists take returns, included WorldRemit Ltd.’s $500 million acquisition of Sendwave, a money transfer service founded by Somalian Ismail Ahmed. Network International Holdings Plc signed a $288 million-agreement to buy DPO Group and Stripe Inc. took over Nigeria’s Paystack for $200 million.

Updated: 2-25-2021

Black Americans Are Changing The Face Of Crypto And Blockchain Through Education

In honor of Black History Month, Cointelegraph is recognizing Black Americans who are innovating in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space.

Despite there still being work to be done to further diversify the crypto space, many believe the blockchain sector is generally more diverse than other tech industries. This could be because cryptocurrency boasts financial inclusion and the democratization of global economics, attracting a wide variety of people from various nationalities, ethnicities, genders, etc., from around the world.

Among this diverse group of participants, Black American founders and thought leaders, in particular, have helped advance the blockchain and crypto sector. While a number of these individuals have founded blockchain companies or venture capital funds, many have also placed a large emphasis on an important, yet often overlooked, element: education.

Educating The Public On Blockchain And Crypto

Isaiah Jackson, author of Bitcoin & Black America and host of The Gentlemen of Crypto podcast, told Cointelegraph that education and awareness are bringing more Black Americans into the crypto and blockchain space:

“We have a number of amazing Black people working in the Bitcoin and crypto industry, but many people remain unaware,” he said, adding further: “These individuals are doing their part to provide books, resources, and guides to the Black American community.”

Specifically, Jackson explained that he wrote Bitcoin & Black America as a source for those in his community wanting to better understand how Bitcoin (BTC) could be used as a tool for financial freedom:

“Years of exclusion and discrimination in the current financial system have affected the black community, so I wanted to share information about a new financial system that was built for everyone. You can burn down Black Wall Street, but you can’t burn down Bitcoin. Black people have an opportunity to help build a new digital monetary system that can help change our outlook for generations.”

Jackson also mentioned that the popular social media app Clubhouse has served as a great outlet for educating others. Jackson helped form the “Black Bitcoin Billionaires” group, which currently has over 24,000 members.

Lamar Wilson, a software developer and entrepreneur, also helped found Black Bitcoin Billionaires. Wilson told Cointelegraph that they are using Clubhouse specifically to educate others in African American communities about cryptocurrency:

“After all the years of being involved in cryptocurrency as an African American, I still haven’t seen many African Americans at events or conferences. Clubhouse has allowed us to create a club to directly influence and educate these people about cryptocurrency.”

In turn, both Wilson and Jackson are using the group to educate those who may not have access to other resources about Bitcoin, crypto and blockchain. “To bring more Black Americans into the space we have to continue to educate. The only challenge we need to overcome is education. Bitcoin is not something to be believed, but rather it’s something to be understood,” Wilson remarked.

Tavonia Evans, founder and CEO of Guapcoin (GUAP) — a cryptocurrency that addresses financial and economic concerns for members of the African diaspora — told Cointelegraph that she also uses platforms like Clubhouse to help educate people with limited access:

“It’s important that we educate those with little access because a lack of education denies them the tools to make empowered decisions that could be beneficial in the long run.”

In addition, Evans regularly speaks at schools and conducts webinars for those who are new and interested in learning about cryptocurrency. According to Evans, more Black Americans will become involved in the crypto and blockchain space as a result of Black voices being amplified.

Black American Celebrities Educating The Community

Fortunately, to Evans’ point, a number of Black American celebrities have begun using their influence to educate the public on the potential of blockchain and cryptocurrency.

For example, American singer and entrepreneur Akon publicly announced plans to build a blockchain-focused city in the West African nation of Senegal. Known as “Akon City,” this development is expected to be completed by the year 2030 and will offer tools for residents to utilize crypto in everyday life, while promoting adoption. Akon also created the Akoin (AKN) cryptocurrency, which is now ready for full deployment in the Mwale Medical and Technology City complex in Kenya.

Shawn Mims, also known as “Mims,” is an American rapper, songwriter and record executive who is innovating in the blockchain space as well. Mims told Cointelegraph that he was first introduced to blockchain after winning a TechCrunch Disrupt competition in 2017 for a music technology app called Cre8tor. It was during this time that Mims understood the potential of leveraging blockchain to provide artists with better transparency for royalties, copywriting and more.

Mims shared that he is now focused on building awareness of blockchain within the music community. In order to do so, he is building a utility token powered by Ethereum that would allow for royalty transparency while providing fans with rewards for sharing content. “The name of my token is ‘Tune.’ My business partners Erik Mendelson and Winston ‘Blackout’ Thomas and I are working on integrating the technology within the Cre8tor app,” he said.

In addition to influential individuals like Akon and Mims, the American venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz helped create the a16z Cultural Leadership Fund to advance Black Americans in technology.

The fund was raised by Chris Lyons, a managing partner of Andreessen Horowitz, and consists of cultural leaders including Sean “Diddy” Combs, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, Quincy Jones and others. Most recently, a16z hosted a Clubhouse conversation around cryptocurrency and blockchain to educate the public.

Is The Blockchain Space Diverse Enough?

Although the blockchain space is diversifying, it’s important to distinguish between diversification from a cryptocurrency perspective and from a technology standpoint. For instance, Mims pointed out that the blockchain space consists of many different sectors. As such, he believes that many Black Americans have taken an interest in crypto investments.

However, Mims noted that he would like to see more Black Americans involved with building out the technology needed to support digital assets. “More chief technology officers, coders and chief executive officers in technology” are what is needed moving forward, according to him.

Marcus Wardlow, blockchain and product strategy manager at JPMorgan Chase, told Cointelegraph that while he has seen several Black voices emerge in the space, the technology sector itself is still very much white and male. As such, Wardlow hopes the blockchain technology space, in particular, continues to evolve with a diverse set of founders, thought leaders and technologists.

In order to ensure this, Wardlow mentioned that Black technologists should be inclusive to those who are of different ethnic and racial backgrounds and include women who are often underrepresented in the tech space.

This is still apparent today, as recent statistics show that women make up about 19% of entry-level and mid-level positions in the tech industry. Only about 16% of senior-level roles are held by women, while that figure is just 10% for executive positions.

Fortunately, a number of Black American women in the blockchain sector aim to encourage more females to become involved. For example, Alexis Johnson, founder and president of Light Node Media — a public relations and events company — told Cointelegraph that she has always felt like a unicorn as a Black woman in blockchain. “But this will all soon change as people start to become more educated and less intimidated,” said Johnson.

In order to promote education, Johnson founded the Johns Hopkins Blockchain and Fintech Network in 2019. She noted that this initiative was created for pioneers, purveyors and innovators in the blockchain and fintech industries looking to learn from others via information sharing, job forums and additional resources.

Carrier Eldridge, founder and CEO of ATO Gallery — a fine art gallery that leverages blockchain for transparency — is also ensuring that Black women have a seat at the table. Eldridge told Cointelegraph that she has not faced discrimination as a Black woman in the blockchain space.

In fact, Eldridge noted that her experience has been the contrary, noting that she has always been welcomed with open arms at various blockchain events around the world. However, Eldridge did mention that she has faced significant hurdles in terms of raising additional funding rounds:

“As a Black woman, I feel that I don’t have the same access to funding. The challenges I have faced boil down to the same that all Black entrepreneurs in technology face. It’s an alarming fact that through 2021 only 1 percent of VC funding went to Black people, with 0.2 percent going to Black women.”

According to Eldridge, she started ATO Gallery to create inclusion for all artists to have access to a broader spectrum of collectors, museums and patrons. Yet, over time, she has learned that in order to grow the company, she must overcome a similar problem that many Black Americans continue to face.

Community Remains Positive Despite Challenges

Challenges aside, many Black Americans involved in the blockchain and cryptocurrency sector remain hopeful when it comes to inclusion.

For instance, Sherrard Harrington, co-founder and president of EonXI — a venture fund and startup studio — told Cointelegraph that the space is generally open to inclusion because the primary goal is democratization, which is a core pillar of diversity and inclusion. “This carves out a path for industry leaders in blockchain to solve unique problems that impact people from all walks of life — not just the majority,” he remarked.

Wilson further noted that the Bitcoin space is diverse because the cryptocurrency helps people everywhere in the world. In terms of inclusion, Wilson explained that this shouldn’t matter. “Bitcoin doesn’t care about race. This is the reason why we are focused on making sure those that have been excluded are now included,” he said.

Experts Wrestle With How To Help Black Americans Build Wealth

Black families’ median wealth is 13% of white families’, a Fed survey finds.

The Federal Reserve reported last year that, according to its Survey of Consumer Finances, the median wealth of Black families in the U.S. was $24,100 in 2019, just 13% of the White family median wealth of $188,200. The huge disparity in wealth—which exceeds the disparity in income—is a problem that many people recognize but few can agree how to fix.

On Feb. 23, Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Bloomberg Black Professional Community put on the first of a four-part series called The Power of Difference that “seeks to highlight and discuss the structures that aid in Black wealth accumulation and extraction.”

The online event was introduced by Michael Bloomberg, the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP (this magazine’s publisher), who made building Black wealth a priority of his 2020 presidential campaign. In September his Greenwood Initiative pledged $100 million to historically Black medical schools.

The event didn’t settle the question of how best to help build Black wealth, but it did cover some of the leading approaches. It also surfaced a long-running discussion within the Black community about how big a role business should play in righting an historical wrong.

Slavery, in which Black people were themselves treated as property, is America’s original sin and the root of today’s racial disparity in wealth. Attendees were provided a Brookings Institution report that details what’s gone on since slavery was abolished, including the 1921 destruction by a white mob of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, sometimes called Black Wall Street.

There were also, Brookings said, “discriminatory policies throughout the 20th century including the Jim Crow Era’s ‘Black Codes’ strictly limiting opportunity in many southern states, the GI bill, the New Deal’s Fair Labor Standards Act’s exemption of domestic agricultural and service occupations, and redlining.”

In recent decades the government has passed measures that benefit Blacks, such as the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, the Equal Opportunity Act, and various social safety net programs that, while race-blind, are important supports for many Black families. Clearly, though, they haven’t been enough.

That fact emerged in a roundtable hosted by Bloomberg TV anchor Romaine Bostick and featuring Darrick Hamilton, a professor of economics and urban policy at the New School in New York; Lillian Singh, a vice president at Prosperity Now in Washington, D.C.; and Tina Byles Williams, chief executive officer and chief investment officer of Xponance, an investment firm with offices in Philadelphia and Durham, N.C.

Hamilton and Williams disagreed politely but repeatedly about the role of business in narrowing the racial wealth gap, with Williams, the investment expert, seeing a big role and Hamilton, the economist, not so much. Singh appeared to tilt toward Hamilton’s side of the argument, saying it would be a shame if five years from now no progress has been made.

“Government plays a critical role” in protecting Black wealth, Hamilton said, pointing to the Tulsa riot as an example of what happens when government doesn’t do its job. He said the government should issue all Americans “baby bonds” at birth. (Poor children would get more than rich ones in Hamilton’s vision.) And, he said, it should guarantee a job to everyone who wants one.

Williams didn’t oppose any of those programs but emphasized the good that business can do, citing efforts by tech and especially financial companies to support minority-owned businesses. “Government policy is important,” she said, but “we need to harness corporate activity.” She said Xponance “employs almost 50 people and has seeded about 200 firms, 60% of which are diverse or woman-owned.”

“I have to go through profit suasion, not moral suasion,” in making her case to CEOs, Williams said. “I’m not denying the role of policy, but it can’t be primarily a government-led or community-led approach,” she said, adding later, “unless you’re going to appropriate their company or their means of production.”

Hamilton answered, “We literally could transfer from corporations if we desired, not that I’m advocating that.” He said, “We can have corporations be morally good citizens, but we shouldn’t rely on that.” Programs that are popular with the financial establishment such as education and access to entrepreneurship are important in their own right but not sufficient, Hamilton said.

“Perhaps,” he said, “we have the directional emphasis slightly wrong.” He called for “a full-throated accounting, a mea culpa” and a truth and reconciliation commission to make amends for slavery and other wrongs.

It’s been more than a century since Black intellectuals W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington wrestled with similar questions, revolving around whether to work within the White-dominated system or fight it. No wonder people are getting impatient.

Updated: 2-26-2021

Why Is Bitcoin $86K In Nigeria? Here’s Why The BTC Premium Is Huge In Some Countries

Traders are accustomed to slight price differences between exchanges, but is a 70% gap sustainable?

Since the start of 2021, the price of Bitcoin (BTC) has been chasing new highs on a weekly and daily basis. On Feb. 21, BTC reached a new all-time high of $58,300. However, an interesting phenomenon is that even with many global cryptocurrency exchanges in existence, BTC’s price can still vary greatly depending on geography.

This raises an intriguing question: How can Bitcoin simultaneously trade at $53,047 in Malaysia, $49,727 in Singapore, $51,133 in India and over $86,000 in Nigeria? Is the reason simply a temporary imbalance between buyers and sellers, taxes, or regulations? Or is there something else at play?

As shown in the chart below, there really isn’t a set price for BTC, as nearly every country has its own digital asset valuation.

At any given time, cryptocurrency prices will differ between countries, even after adjusting the currency rate. Indeed, some additional buying or selling pressure could create discrepancies, but that should not be continuous and steady.

What’s Causing The Huge BTC Price Discrepancies?

This phenomenon isn’t something new or exclusive to cryptocurrencies, however. Exxon Mobil stocks, for example, are traded in United States, Russian, Argentine, German, Mexican and Swizz markets.

While there may be different reasons for the friction, including bureaucracy and nation-specific laws, they’re basically the same asset. Nevertheless, their prices usually differ after adjusting for currency exchange rates.

Unlike stocks, however, transferring cryptocurrencies usually takes less than an hour, and it doesn’t depend on custodians and depositary receipt administrators. Therefore, bureaucracy can not be the reason for the big price differences for Bitcoin, which is borderless.

On the other hand, suppose one just bought BTC in the U.S. or Europe and is willing to sell it in Argentina to profit from the 6.5% difference. Even if there were no trading fees involved, the result would be the local currency, the Argentine peso.

Things get more complicated though, as one will need to convert this fiat money back to dollars or euros. There might be domestic restrictions, taxes or, even worse, a different currency rate for foreigners. Moreover, traditional currency remittances don’t take place on weekends and usually take one or two business days.

Not surprisingly, the countries with the highest BTC valuations consistently score low on investment and financial freedom global rankings. Barriers and taxes created by strict government controls translate into additional risks and costs for the fiat conversion and remittance. This all contributes to the premium seen versus the remaining countries.

Government Action Might Create Extreme Situations

Extreme capital control situations such as the Central Bank of Nigeria recently shutting down all cryptocurrency-related bank accounts could be behind the current 70% premium versus global BTC markets. But Nigeria likely has the highest premium in the world because the country, in particular, is also the leader when it comes to Bitcoin adoption, based on the latest data.

#Bitcoin Price is now $80,000 in Nigeria – a 60% premium.

That’s what happens when you try to ban something people want.

— Bitcoin Archive (@BTC_Archive) February 18, 2021

Eventually, arbitrage traders will find a solution to bypass sanctions, and the price gap should tighten. But right now, there is no effective way to “profit” from the arbitrage.

For those wondering what would cause Bitcoin to trade below most liquid markets such as the U.S., there is no definitive answer. It is most likely some regulatory hurdle for depositing fiat money on local exchanges, thus creating an imbalance favoring the sell-side.

The negative premium is less common, however, and stablecoins could be used to mitigate this effect. Meanwhile, when a hefty premium is seen in local fiat currency, it does not justify a similar price gap for dollar-denominated stablecoin trading.

Thus, such differences in pricing across various countries represent the risks, red tape, taxes and inefficiencies of converting fiat between currencies and sending fiat money across borders.

Updated: 5-3-2021

Ethiopia Pledges To Allow Mobile Money For New Telecom Entrants

Ethiopia has pledged to allow prospective owners of new telecom licenses to offer mobile-banking services at some point after entering the market, according to people familiar with the matter.

The initial exclusion of mobile money from the auction process had caused wireless carriers to hesitate over bidding for the new spectrum and influenced the amount they were prepared to offer, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the process is ongoing. The state also backtracked on an insistence that new entrants rent infrastructure such as telecom towers from state-owned Ethio Telecom indefinitely, they said.

The concessions are part of Ethiopia’s drawn out effort to open its telecom market to outside investors, a central tenet of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s plans to reform the economy and generate foreign exchange. A consortium of Johannesburg-based MTN Group Ltd. and China’s Silk Road Fund submitted a bid earlier this week, as did a group including the U.K.’s Vodafone Group Plc and African partners.

A response to the two offers is expected in coming days, the people said.

Eyob Tekalign, the Ethiopian state minister responsible for the privatization process, couldn’t be reached for comment. Vodafone and MTN declined to comment on an ongoing process.

Privatization Plan

Wireless carriers on the continent see mobile money as a major generator of revenue, as hundreds of millions of people use their phones for payments rather than traditional banks. M-Pesa Africa, the continent’s biggest such service and co-owned by Safaricom Ltd. and Vodacom Group Ltd., is valued at $14 billion, according to a research note by EFG Hermes.

Ethiopia’s decision to open up the telecom industry was taken in mid-2018 and was initially part of a much wider privatization program, taking in sugar factories and railway infrastructure among other sectors. But the process has been hit by numerous setbacks, including the coronavirus pandemic, delayed elections and the regulatory complexity that comes with organizing a sale.

The business case for phone companies was at first straightforward: Ethiopia has a population of more than 110 million, the second largest in Africa, yet less than half its people have mobile-phone subscriptions.

Updated: 7-23-2021

Vodafone CEO Hints At Spin-Off Of Mobile Money Platform M-Pesa

Vodafone Group Plc hinted it could spin off its African mobile money service M-Pesa after its popularity soared through the coronavirus pandemic.

The platform offers peer-to-peer transactions in countries including Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Lesotho and the Democratic Republic of Congo. It’s now pushing into new financial services like small loans, payroll and savings.

Vodafone Chief Executive Officer Nick Read said it’s logical to keep M-Pesa within the telecommunications group for now, to maintain benefits like distribution and cementing customer loyalty.

“In the future, there may be opportunities to scale further,” Read said on a call with reporters on Friday after Vodafone’s first-quarter results. “At that point I think we would make the decision as to whether we would want to do anything, let’s say, more inorganically.”

For now, Vodafone has decided to carve out its financial services activities into a new legal entity “to highlight to our investors the size and scale of that business and also offer opportunities to grow it in different ways,” he said.

Vodafone’s majority-owned South African subsidiary Vodacom Group Ltd. recently partnered with China’s Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. to develop a so-called super-app called VodaPay for new services, as users and potential users upgrade to smartphones.

“M” stands for mobile and “Pesa” means money in Swahili. The platform has embedded itself in several economies, finding popularity where many people have mobile phones but don’t have conventional bank accounts.

It became even more indispensable under Covid-19 lockdowns: Transactions on M-Pesa soared by 45% in the first quarter from a year earlier.

Read said the volume of transactions is equivalent to roughly half of Kenya’s gross domestic product, citing Kenya’s Central Bank. Vodafone may launch the service in further markets, he said.

Updated: 6-6-2021

Africa ‘Is Leading Global Cryptocurrency Adoption’: Paxful CEO

Paxful CEO Ray Youssef said all eyes should be on Africa right now.

“Everyone should have all eyes on Africa right now,” said Ray Youssef, CEO of peer-to-peer lending platform Paxful during CoinDesk TV’s “First Mover” show on Friday.

Youssef said the number of transactions on Paxful in Africa, combined with Google searches primarily from Nigeria, reflect the “tremendous momentum” around cryptocurrency adoption.

“Africa’s leading [in] global cryptocurrency adoption,” he said.

According to data shared with CoinDesk, Nigeria is Paxful’s biggest market to date, with around 1.5 million users and $1.5 billion in trade volume. Thanks to Nigeria’s tricky exchange rate policy, inflation and large number of unbanked adults, cryptocurrencies like bitcoin (BTC, +2.39%) are increasingly used as an alternative store-of-value.

Earlier this year, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) ordered local banking institutions to identify and shut down any accounts tied to crypto platforms. The order was met with a swift backlash and the CBN has somewhat eased its position since then. However, Nigerian users quickly switched to trading on peer-to-peer platforms like Paxful to avoid interacting with local banks.

“This is just the harbinger of things to come. We’re only starting to see what Africa is capable of,” Youssef said, referring to how young Nigerians have built their own alternative financial networks.

Youssef added that in addition to leading markets like Nigeria, new markets are “blowing up” every day. He expects Cameroon and Ethiopia to be strong contenders for emerging crypto markets in the next few years.

A representative for Paxful told CoinDesk the platform expects to see 120% growth in users and 142% growth in trading volumes this year based on linear projections from 2020. The company also expects to see 72% growth in users and 84% growth in trading volumes in Ghana.

“People ask me why I am so crazy about Africa,” Youssef said. “Well, the reason is, I’ve been there, I’ve met the people, I’ve seen the problems that they have. It makes perfect sense once you’re there.”

Updated: 6-14-2021

South Africa To Revise National Policy Position On Cryptocurrency

Strong retail interest in crypto has driven South African regulators to rethink how they classify cryptocurrencies.

South Africa’s financial regulators are laying the groundwork for the “phased and structured” regulation of cryptocurrencies. The move presents a reversal of the largely hands-off approach taken for the past seven years and has been driven by increasingly high levels of retail interest in crypto in the country.

In a position paper published on Friday, the country’s Intergovernmental Fintech Working Group, or IFWG, under the aegis of the Crypto Assets Regulatory Working Group, laid out a roadmap for introducing a regulatory framework that will center on crypto asset service providers.

South Africa’s initial national policy toward crypto has until now been one of wariness but also noninterference. Back in 2014, the National Treasury issued a public statement dedicated to the issue, together with the South African Reserve Bank and the country’s financial regulator and financial intelligence and tax agencies.

Its tone was cautionary but unintrusive, warning the public that it could trade crypto at its own risk and would be offered no legal protection or recourse in case of difficulties.

Commentators have noted that several factors, including the South African crypto market’s surge to in excess of 2 billion rand ($147 million) in daily traded value earlier this year, have rendered this former policy untenable.

IFWG’s new paper emphasizes that even though a structured regulatory framework is set to be phased in, crypto assets remain “inherently risky and volatile,” and the prospective financial losses incurred by crypto trading activities remain high.

Six overarching principles will inform the country’s evolving approach. These entail taking an “activities-based perspective” that will ensure that a principle of “same activity, same risk” orients regulators’ decisions; implementing measures proportional to risk; taking a collaborative approach to crypto asset regulation; staying up to date with international best practices; and encouraging digital financial literacy, among consumers.

The paper also puts forth 25 recommendations for how to regulate crypto in relation to three main areas of concern: Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism, cross-border financial laws and the application of financial sector laws. This last implies that South Africa’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority will be tasked with aiming to prevent market abuses — e.g., fraud and market misconduct, and taking action against relevant perpetrators in the industry.

Alongside the published paper, IFGW issued a press release outlining its strategy, which gave space to its concerns about the nature of the asset class and surrounding ecosystem. IFGW pointed to decentralization as a downside, not a plus, which leaves consumers and traders without recourse to an authority or centralized entity that could resolve user errors — e.g., using the wrong crypto wallet address.

IFGW also remains concerned about the manipulative nature of much crypto marketing material, assets’ price volatility and scam activities, such as Ponzi schemes. Indeed, this year the country’s largest-ever Ponzi scheme involved a company targeting Bitcoin (BTC) traders, which amassed 23,000 BTC in investor holdings from a reported 26,000 members worldwide.

Updated: 6-25-2021

Nigerian Secondary School Will Accept Crypto Payments Despite Regulatory Uncertainty

“We believe one day digital money will gain more acceptance than paper money,” said school director Sabi’u Musa Haruna.

A private secondary school based near the Nigerian city of Kano has announced it will be accepting payments for school fees in cryptocurrency amid the country’s central bank banning financial institutions providing services to crypto exchanges.

According to a Thursday report from local news outlet Kano Focus, the director of the New Oxford Science Academy in the Kano suburb of Chiranchi will allow students to pay for tuition fees in crypto. Sabi’u Musa Haruna, who started working at the school in 2017, urged the Nigerian government to embrace and regulate cryptocurrency, but seemed to imply he would not wait with this latest move.

“We’ve decided to accept cryptocurrency as school fees, because the world today is tilting towards the system,” said Haruna. “We believe one day digital money will gain more acceptance than paper money.”

Haruna cited the examples of countries like El Salvador and Tanzania expanding payment options for crypto users. The Latin American nation will begin to accept Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender across the country starting on Sept. 7 following the passage of a pro-crypto bill. Across the glo Tanzania’s central bank announced today it had begun working on directives from the government that could eventually overturn the country’s ban on crypto.

The school director did not explicitly say which tokens would be accepted for payment. However, public interest for Bitcoin in Nigeria has often been stronger than that in other countries — according to data from Google Trends, the African country ranks first among searches for BTC, with Austria, Turkey, and Switzerland in a close race for second.

In February, the Central Bank of Nigeria announced in a circular that it had banned regulated financial institutions in the country from providing services to crypto exchanges. Though the policy warned of “severe regulatory sanctions” for any bank that failed to close accounts belonging to exchanges, governor Godwin Emefiele clarified in March that the ban was intended to “prohibit transactions on cryptocurrencies in the banking sector” rather than discourage individuals from dealing in digital assets.

Many lawmakers and people connected to Nigeria’s central bank have been pushing pro-crypto messages in the months following the ban. Emefiele said in May that “digital currency will come to life even in Nigeria” while the central bank later announced plans to launch a CBDC by 2022.

Updated: 6-29-2021

Regulatory Clock Ticks For Cryptocurrency Assets In South Africa

South Africa is moving with more urgency to stiffen oversight of cryptocurrency assets after a proliferation of scams.

A new regulatory timeline foresees finalizing a framework in three to six months, after the publication of proposals earlier in June that requires public comment before approval, according to Kuben Naidoo, chief executive officer of South Africa’s banking regulator known as the Prudential Authority.

“We are trying to put in place the regulatory framework quickly,” said Naidoo, who’s also a deputy governor of the South African central bank. “Defining this as a financial product and then developing the regulatory framework is important.”

The approach that’s taking shape means tougher rules could be imminent this year after a jolt of scandals that most recently included a suspected Ponzi scheme, which resulted in the disappearance of an estimated $3.6 billion in Bitcoin.

South African cryptocurrency service providers have been operating unchecked by regulatory powers even as the popularity of the asset class has taken off. Last year, the collapse of Johannesburg-based Mirror Trading International was called the biggest crypto-related scam of 2020 by blockchain data platform Chainalysis.

“We are of the view that cryptocurrencies are risky and we want to ensure that the financial sector is aware of those risks and pricing for those risks properly,” Naidoo said. “We think it’s a market-conduct matter. It’s an investor-protection matter.”

Africa’s most developed economy is tightening the screws on the industry as digital currencies move from the periphery of the finance world to the mainstream and face deeper scrutiny worldwide.

In one of the most significant moves to date by a regulator amid a global crackdown, Binance Markets Ltd. was banned Sunday by the U.K. financial watchdog from doing any regulated business in the country. Huobi, one of the most popular cryptocurrency platforms in China, said Monday that users in the country are prohibited from trading derivatives.

Under global regulators’ plans to ward off threats to financial stability from the volatile market, banks will face the toughest capital requirements for holdings in Bitcoin. Earlier this month, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision proposed that a 1,250% risk weight be applied to a bank’s exposure to Bitcoin and certain other cryptocurrencies.

Regulators in South Africa will first move to establish know-your-customer rules for crypto exchanges and create systems for the surveillance of the asset class in order to prevent money being laundered out of the country, Naidoo said. Thereafter, investor-protection guidelines and rules for managing capital risk in the banking sector should come into effect.

Firms offering services related to digital currencies in South Africa have been eager for better rules to take shape and drive up trust in the asset class.

“Any incidents of fraud draw attention to the importance of regulation and we hope that the clear guidelines in South Africa — and globally — could lead to wider adoption by enhancing stability and trust in the market,” said Marius Reitz, general manager in Africa for Luno.

“Regulations will also raise standards and barriers to entry and weed out bad actors or service providers with a low regard and capability to safeguard customer information and money,” Reitz said.

Updated: 6-30-2021

South African Asset Manager Denies Stealing Billions From Users, Claims $5M Was Lost In Hack

AfriCrypt’s founders deny running off with billions in customers funds, asserting they went into hiding after receiving death threats from “dangerous people.”

Raees Cajee, the co-founder of South African crypto investment platform AfriCrypt, has denied claims that he and his brother ran off with billions in investor funds, asserting the platform lost $5 million in a hack.

Last week, Cointelegraph reported that AfriCrypt — an asset manager purporting to offer daily returns of up to 10% that launched in 2019 — had been accused of disappearing with 69,000 BTC of investor funds in a mysterious exploit.

While AfriCrypt had notified users of the hack on April 13, suspicions were immediately raised as the message urged investors to avoid taking legal action as it would slow down the recovery of the funds. Shortly thereafter, the brothers reportedly halted AfriCrypt’s operations and went missing.

Speaking with The Wall Street Journal on June 28, Raees sought to counter the accusations laid against AfriCrypt and its co-founders, asserting the pair went into hiding after receiving death threats from some “very, very dangerous people.”

Raees also rejected claims that $3.6 billion in funds is missing, asserting the firm only managed $200 million during its peak in April, and that only $5 million in investor funds are unaccounted for after the hack.

“At the height of the market, we were managing just over $200 million.”

Hanekom Attorneys, the law firm representing AfriCrypt’s customers, alleges the brothers transferred $3.6 worth of BTC from AfriCrypt’s accounts and client wallets, before moving the funds through “various dark web tumblers and mixers” to prevent the funds from being traced further.

If the allegations against AfriCrypt are true, the incident would surpass the losses from South African-based Ponzi-scheme Mirror Trading International, which pulled in 23,000 BTC from unsuspecting investors in the country’s largest confirmed crypto fraud to date. At today’s prices, the stolen BTC would fetch $800 million.

Lawyer John Oosthuizen, who is representing the Cajee brothers, told the BBC on June 26 that the pair has “categorically denied” the allegations they stole their investors’ funds.

“They maintain that it was a hack, and they were fleeced of these assets,” he added.

South Africa’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) released a statement regarding the case on June 24, noting the project appeared to have Ponzi-like characteristics:

“This entity was offering exceptionally high and unrealistic returns akin to those offered by unlawful investment schemes commonly known as Ponzi’s.”

However, the FSCA asserted it cannot take any action against AfriCrypt as crypto assets are currently unregulated in South Africa.

According to WSJ, a separate group of investors is seeking AfriCrypt’s liquidation. The brothers plan to surface for a July 19 court hearing regarding their claims.

Updated: 7-2-2021

Nigeria Is The Lion Of Africa In Bitcoin P2P Trading

Nigeria’s crypto industry is growing fast despite the government’s efforts to stunt bitcoin adoption, says a local trader.

Many young Nigerians are adopting bitcoin (BTC, +0.12%) amid the crypto ban put in place by the Nigerian Central Bank. In fact, since the start of 2021, peer-to-peer bitcoin trading has grown to $204 million, the largest amount in Africa.

Data collated from Usefultulips, a Bitcoin analytic provider, shows Nigeria dwarfs the rest of Africa combined on the use of bitcoin for peer-to-peer transactions. For instance, in the last 180 days, its closest rival in P2P BTC transactions, Kenya, totaled $84.3 million. In Ghana, the total was $59.8 million.

A significant number of young, internet-savvy Nigerians are using crypto to move capital, amid a period of great technological and sociological change in Africa’s largest country. A declining local currency and antagonistic government have made Nigeria into a proving ground for Bitcoin’s big ideals.

Chinedu Obidiegwu, business development lead in Nigeria for Luno, a P2P crypto platform, spoke on the growing use of bitcoin amid its price volatility and the crypto ban put in place by Nigeria’s central bank:

“The restriction of banks by the Nigerian regulators in February 2021, came as a considerable shock to the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Notwithstanding, Nigerians have rather increased their use and deepened knowledge as seen in the numbers across platforms offering alternative funding options even through a recent market switch from bullish to bearish,” he said.

Data collated from Binance showed growth in the company’s P2P users across Africa from January to April surged by a whopping 2,228.21%. Nigeria, of course, played a major role. Other top crypto brands like Paxful, FTX and Crypto.com are also entering the fold. P2P transactions have skyrocketed as the central bank has banned the country’s banks from handling crypto transactions.

“We’ve experienced a 23% increase in our trading volumes since the new [central bank’s] policy,” Nena Nwachukwu, Nigeria’s regional manager for Paxful, said.

Bitcoin’s ascent is rooted in a sharp fall in remittances through traditional channels during the pandemic. The World Bank said remittances to Nigeria declined by 27.7% in 2020.

The Nigerian local currency hasn’t helped everyday people either. Rising inflation (17.93% in May) has eroded the purchasing power of many Nigerians who seek alternatives like bitcoin to preserve their wealth. The country has one of the highest youth poverty rates in the world.

These growing economic challenges help explain why the crypto industry is growing despite the government’s efforts to stunt bitcoin adoption. Despite its benefits, bitcoin is not a magic pill.

Luno’s Obidiegwu spoke to the premium costs and high-risk exposure to fraud many young Nigerians face when buying the crypto asset:

“The unfortunate effect, however, is that many Nigerians have had to depend on the less secure and transparent OTC (over the counter) channels, exposing many to a higher risk of being defrauded and reducing visibility to the financial activity which should be a bigger concern compared to the reasons given for the ban.”

Still, Enakirerhi Ejovwoke, the founder of Abokie.com and thebittle.com, spoke to the opportunities still in play, despite a government ban.

“I see the ban was received more as an opportunity rather than a hindrance to crypto advancement in Nigeria, and I believe that other countries facing similar situations now or in the future can use Nigeria as a model of hope.”

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