Nestcoin, a Nigerian investment firm, stated on February 1 that it has secured $6.45 million in a pre-seed round headed by Distributed Global and Alter Global. Serena Ventures, MSA Capital, A&T Capital, 4DX Ventures, Alameda Research, and a few more were among the investors in the round.
Serena Ventures is owned by Tennis legend Serena Williams, who recently bought a Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT.
Nestcoin intends to use the funds to provide Africa with technology stacks, projects, and innovation. A crypto education platform, a gaming guild, and a blockchain-based payment gateway are all part of the Nestcoin portfolio. Nestcoin has taken a few movements since its inception in November 2021, demonstrating the company’s strategy for promoting Africa’s cryptocurrency acquisition.
Nestcoin first announced ‘Breach,’ a crypto education media project aimed at launching various initiatives to make crypto information more accessible in African markets. The Investment firm also founded Metaverse Magna, a gaming guild that enables its members to earn up to $1,000 each month. In addition, the crypto firm has invested in Lazerpay, a blockchain-based payment gateway that enables businesses to accept cryptocurrency payments. Nestcoin’s goal of easing crypto adoption is highlighted by this investment.
Nestcoin competes with other few startups across its area of business focus. It’s Metaverse Magna competes with another gaming startup, Afriguild, which tries to make cryptocurrency accessible to Africans through gaming. Its Lazerpay also competes with various emerging African crypto payment services, including Payourse, Paychant, Fluidcoin, Busha, and Fluidcoin.
Africa’s Cryptocurrency adoption is increasing
African countries have long faced infrastructure issues, which have made financial services more difficult to obtain. In Africa though, Bitcoin is proving to be a viable alternative to traditional banking because it only requires a smartphone. Africa’s crypto usage surged by 1200 percent between July 2020 and June 2021, making it the world’s fastest-growing crypto region. However, the continent continues to lag behind other regions in terms of overall trade values.
Africa transacted $105.6 billion in crypto assets in the year ending June 2021, largely due to peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions in emerging markets. Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, and Tanzania were among the top 20 countries in the Global Crypto Adoption Index, with some of the highest crypto adoption rates in the world.
Paxful and LocalBitcoins and Paxful, the world’s largest P2P networks, have seen significant trade volumes for numerous African currencies since 2016. P2P networks like this are currently popular in Nigeria and Kenya, where consumers use them to get around strict financial rules that prevent cash transfers from banks to crypto firms.