Author: Staff

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Business

Russia legalizing Bitcoin and Crypto is a matter of time, says the Minister of Industry and Trade

Denis Manturov, the Russian Federation’s Minister of Industry and Trade, recently stated that legalizing bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in Russia is only a matter of time.

When asked whether Russia would legalize bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency during an educational event called New Horizon, Manturov said:

“The question is when it will happen, how it will happen, and how it will be regulated. Now both the Central Bank and the government are actively engaged in this.”

While Russian officials are currently debating the future of cryptocurrencies and mining, the Bank of Russia advocated for a complete ban on cryptocurrency last year, citing systemic risks to the current financial system.

The Ministry of Finance, on the other hand, has still emphasized that cryptocurrencies should be legal and well-regulated. Additionally,  President Vladimir Putin has urged regulatory authorities to reach a consensus on the issue because of Russia’s natural resource advantages.

“But everyone tends to understand that this is a trend of time, and sooner or later, in one format or another it will be carried out,” said Manturov at the New Horizon event. “But, once again, it should be legal, correct, in accordance with the rules that will be formulated.”

While Russian officials are currently debating the future of cryptocurrencies and mining, the Bank of Russia advocated for a complete ban on cryptocurrency last year, citing systemic risks to the current financial system.

The Ministry of Finance, on the other hand, has argued that cryptocurrencies should be legal and well-regulated, and President Vladimir Putin has urged regulatory authorities to reach a consensus on the issue because of Russia’s natural resource advantages.

Categories
Social Good

Get a slice of the Web3 pie at the Bitcoin Pizza Day Hangout.

On Sunday 22 May, major crypto communities from 20 cities across Africa will join the Crypto Bootcamp Community from Nigeria in a unique event to commemorate Bitcoin Pizza Day. 

Today Bitcoin has a multitude of amazing and unconventional uses in the global market and Bitcoin Pizza Day celebrates the humble and somewhat unconventional beginnings of the world’s leading cryptocurrency. 

Somewhere in Florida, the date was May 22nd and the year 2010 when Laszlo Hanyecz felt a craving and ordered 2 pizzas which he paid for using 10,000 BTC. At the time, this was just another pizza purchase for Laszlo but this turned out to be the first reported use of Bitcoin for a commercial transaction or exchange of actual goods. 

While 10,000 BTC (even at the current dipping value) amounts to over $290 million, it is important to note that this was before Bitcoin had even matched the value of the dollar.

As Bitcoin grew, so did the legend of the man who made its first transaction. Laszlo says he does not regret the decision and that he spent up to 100,000 BTC on pizza in the period that followed adding that he was glad to have been a part of the history in this iconic way. 

The Bitcoin and crypto community thus came to recognise the day that Bitcoin essentially stepped into the financial world with a commemoration of the Bitcoin Pizza Day on 22nd May.  

The Story behind Bitcoin Pizza Day on 60 minutes with Anderson Cooper.

This Sunday marks the 12th anniversary of the iconic day and the African crypto community has an exceptional opportunity to commemorate with the Bitcoin Pizza Day Hangout organized by the Crypto Bootcamp. 

The Bootcamp has collaborated with a number of crypto communities and initiatives to have a synchronized event happening in Kampala, Nairobi, Cape Town, Accra, Mombasa, Lagos and other cities across Africa. 

Beyond pizza, a lot more knowledge is also to be shared at the Hangout as the organizers hope to bridge the gap between crypto enthusiasts, industry leaders, investors, innovative Blockchain and Crypto companies and their products and services to usher in more individuals to the budding space.

The Hangout will also feature giveaways, new project exhibitions, meet and greet sessions with top industry players and panel discussions to give enthusiasts who attend a comprehensive experience on top of the entertainment and refreshments. 

The event aims at bringing together African crypto enthusiasts to create crypto awareness and drive mainstream adoption while educating enthusiasts on the prospects of the sector. 

In the spirit of opening up the community, the event is free to attend for all and in Uganda, one would have to make their way to Grand Global Hotel off Sir Apollo Kaggwa Road to take part with registration open and available here. 

A team from the budding crypto education startup known as Skill Haven will coordinate things on the ground in Uganda and to participate in the Hangout as a sponsor or partner, one can reach the organizers via: 

+256 706 007 302

Or 

+234 803 563 1543 

Or 

thecryptobootcamp@gmail.com

Categories
Business

The South African Central Bank is considering a digital rand to reduce cross-border payment costs

The South African Central Bank is thinking about launching a digital rand that will help cut cross-border payments. 

It costs 13% of a transaction to remit money from South Africa to another country, more than double the average of the Group of 20 (G20) leading global economies, according to a 2021 World Bank report. Additionally, sending money to South Africa costs 6.2%. The South African Reserve bank is studying how technology can be used to reduce such costs.

Some governments are considering introducing electronic versions of traditional currencies, known as central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), and are researching how the underlying technology could be utilized.

South Africa has experimented with a wholesale CBDC on a modest scale and engaged in a cross-border pilot with the central banks of Malaysia, Australia, and Singapore.

The next stage is for regulators to test the digital rand at a bigger scale and develop rules for its use.

“We’re still learning, we’re still experimenting,” South African Reserve Bank (SARB) Deputy Governor Kuben Naidoo said.

However, a Senior Central Bank official highlighted,  “The digital rand in South Africa could cut the high cost of cross-border payments for banks but its introduction is still a few years away.”

Additionally, Naidoo told Reuters in an interview that regulation of crypto assets is in the offing and might come into force within 9 to 15 months.

Naidoo also added that the South African Reserve Bank wants regulation of crypto assets to prevent theft, money laundering, and undermining of monetary policy.

“If crypto-assets were to become a very ubiquitous currency, you could undermine the authority of the Central Bank,” he said.

Categories
Opinions

How Crypto Is Helping Africans Gain Financial Inclusion

Cryptocurrencies, particularly bitcoin, have been one of the most prominent topics of conversation in the financial world since their inception over a decade ago. The internet and social media have been flooded with discussions about how crypto has revolutionized the financial sector and enabled financial inclusion. Businesses in Africa are beginning to accept bitcoin as payment as the crypto gospel expands throughout the globe. In Nigeria for example, schools such as New Oxford Science Academy are accepting crypto payments for school fees. Bitcoin has even become legal tender in several nations and the most recent has been the Central African Republic. 

This prompts the question, “why is crypto adoption spreading, and why are more people investing in the crypto space”. The answer is quite simple. Cryptocurrencies have proven to be a medium to easy access to financial services providing financial inclusion for the underbanked and the unbanked.

Mobile banking, ATM transactions, and other financial services appear to be readily available, but this is not the reality. Many people lack access to basic financial services such as a bank account, which prohibits them from readily sending and receiving money and limits their credit and insurance possibilities. In fact, according to the World Bank, 1.7 billion people lack access to these basic financial services.

Perhaps this was ignored in the past, but the Covid pandemic highlighted the traditional banking system’s inadequacies. The pandemic had an economic impact and caused local currencies to devalue. The blockade made it difficult for people to visit local banks and use Point of Sale systems, encouraging most Africans to turn to cryptocurrency as a better alternative. Most people can now access banking services more quickly, cheaply, and easily from the comfort of their own homes thanks to crypto.

Here is how crypto is aiding Financial Inclusion in Africa.

  1. There is easy access to financial services.

Opening a typical bank account involves a lot of paperwork, which may be stressful and takes a lot of time. With crypto, you can easily open a digital wallet in minutes without needing to go to the bank, queuing, and complete rigorous documentation. You can do this all in the comfort of your home in minutes. 

  1. Transactions are cheaper and faster.

While dealing with cross-border transactions, transaction costs that appear acceptable when dealing with local transactions can be excessive. Sending money home and abroad is expensive, but it can also take hours, days, or weeks in some situations. You may simply complete local and cross-border transactions in seconds with crypto at the lowest possible transaction costs.

  1. You have complete control over your finances.

Bitcoin is decentralized, which means it is governed by its users rather than central authorities or governments. This implies that you have financial control. You won’t have to cope with transaction restrictions imposed by traditional banks.

  1. Crypto’s blockchain technology, on the other hand, helps to protect your cash from security breaches and it prevents fraudulent transfers.

Platforms such as Binance, Yellow Card, Luna among others recognized the limitations in traditional banking and provided better alternatives that supported financial Inclusion amidst the regulations and policy limitations in some African nations. 

Categories
Business

Binance NFT and Dubai’s Museum of the Future have launched their first-ever NFT collection

The Museum of the Future in Dubai has partnered with Binance’s NFT marketplace, the world’s largest blockchain and cryptocurrency infrastructure provider. The Museum hopes to produce and launch a range of digital products on the blockchain as a result of this relationship, starting with their first-ever NFT collection, The Most Beautiful NFTs in the Metaverse.

The Museum, which opened just a few weeks ago, has already made an impression on visitors, with tickets and the Museum Future Talks series selling out days in advance.

The Museum of the Future solidifies its position in the fields of NFTs, cryptocurrencies and the blockchain, the future of mixed reality, mobility, the metaverse, and other future technologies with this announcement to partner with Binance NFT.

Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Teleworking Applications, said, “Museum of the Future’s partnership with the world’s largest cryptocurrency and blockchain ecosystem player makes a significant contribution towards Dubai’s plans to establish a new international digital asset ecosystem, which will, in turn, generate long-term economic growth within the digital economy.”

Lath Carlson, Executive Director of Museum of the Future, said, “This exciting project is the first of many future ventures that will see us working with the world’s brightest minds and construct high-impact developments that will shape the future.”

The Museum of the Future is working on a variety of virtual assets and will be a pioneer in the field of cryptography. The first NFT drop is anticipated to be announced in the coming weeks, with the collection being inextricably tied to ‘The Most Beautiful Building on Earth, with the goal of setting new standards for NFTs around the world.

Helen Hai, Head of Binance NFT, said, “We are honored to partner with the Museum of the Future in Dubai, a truly unique and innovative concept. We look forward to working with the Museum to develop industry-leading digital products that enhance the growth of the industry and promote the adoption of blockchain within the region.”

Categories
Technology

SA-based Xago announces XUS stablecoin on its platform.

South African money transfer platform, Xago has announced the launch of Xago XUS stablecoin that is pegged to the US dollar in order to enable clients to make deposits or receive payouts in dollars on the Xago platform. 

Xago was founded in 2016 and brands itself as a company that harnesses the power of mobile, retail networks and blockchain technology to transform the payment industry by bypassing traditional payment costs and delays.

 With a focus on empowering people in Africa, Xago enables its business and individual clients to reliably send money quickly on a highly secure and regulation-compliant platform all at a fraction of the cost. 

A recent report by the World Bank Group found that South African remittances had an average cost of 15.05% of the amount sent. This was nearly 10% higher than the global average of 6.04% and formed an important focal point for the Xago business model.

According to Mark Chimside, the Xago CEO and co-founder, South Africa is a prime example of how individuals in Africa are charged the highest international money transfer fees yet African countries are the poorest globally. 

“Xago is committed to developing innovative, faster than-ever-before, low-cost transaction and trading capabilities bringing certainty to our clients at a time when the world is still reeling from the costs of the Covid pandemic,” Mark said. 

The Xago CEO added that XUS is the first of many new stablecoins that will become available on Xago’s platform and the company is proud to enable its clients from all over the world to transact in US dollars.

The company press release highlighted that the XUS stablecoin will allow funds to get to their destination in a matter of hours rather than days at a cost far less than even the global average of around 6%.

Xago also released a new version of its mobile app that will have XUS available and became the first app to incorporate advanced (future generation) neuromorphic computing technologies that simulate facial recognition features to improve client verification and security protocols. 

The new technology puts their mobile app in the security category of those with Three-Factor Authentication (3FA) i.e. a password, possession of a registered device (where security codes can be sent) and a biological security feature (such as the thumbprint or as in this case, the biometric facial recognition). 

A Chat with Co-Founder, Xago – South Africa’s Only XRP Off and On-Ramp Exchange

Categories
Opinions

Bank of Tanzania Governor backs CBDCs over cryptocurrencies.

With cryptocurrency adoption heavily on the rise in different forms around the world, Tanzania is one of the countries looking at a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) as a safe option to onboard its citizens into Web3. 

Much as a date for the CBDC launch has still not been confirmed, the Governor of the Bank of Tanzania, Florens Luoga affirmed in an interview on May 9th that a CBDC is in the works. 

According to Governor Luoga, the CBDC will redirect the people’s growing interest in crypto away from privately issued crypto-assets that are largely influenced by speculation that has led to losses for many. 

As the top cryptocurrencies continue to drop in value, Luoga shared how he believes that a Central Bank issued digital currency will give users a more secure and reliable substitute than the cryptocurrencies currently on the market. 

Luoga added that the Central Bank cannot remain unaffected or behind in the face of all the financial technological advancements brought about by blockchain and cryptocurrencies. 

“Almost worldwide, central bank governors are in training right now and holding discussions on how to bring it about,” Luogo remarked as he described how the Bank of Tanzania has sent officials to countries whose CBDC projects are in more advanced stages.

Tanzania had initially issued a cryptocurrency ban in 2019 but since then the President and Central Bank Governor have been quoted saying they cannot ignore the growing presence of digital currencies as their country needs to prepare for the new age of blockchain and crypto.

Crypto in Africa – Tanzania will launch its own digital currency

According to the Bank of International Settlements, 9 out of 10 Central Banks around the world are exploring the prospects of having their own digital currency. The Tanzanian Central Bank governor has been enthusiastic about CBDCs having first mentioned them at the country’s 20th Conference of Financial Institutions in November 2021. 

Other African countries researching the development of CBDCs include Kenya, Rwanda, Ghana, Tunisia, Eswatini and Zambia which announced its plans in February 2022. 

These countries would be looking to follow the path charted by Nigeria which launched its CBDC, the e-Naira in October 2021. Nigeria is currently looking to expand its payment utility options and upgrade the speed of transactions within the e-Naira wallet app. 

Categories
Opinions

Crypto can enhance mobile money in Africa, Kenyan banker says

James Mwangi, CEO of Equity Group Holdings, has emphasized that cryptocurrency can supplement mobile money in Africa if regulators can be convinced of its benefits.

“Having Bitcoin as official cash can open up new alternatives including mobile money. Cryptocurrency can as well complement the mobile money wallet, but essentially, we need to talk to the regulators.” He said.

Many central banks on the African continent have warned against trading cryptocurrency, while some have made it outright illegal.

According to James, Nigeria, The Central African Republic and South Africa are some of the countries that have stood out for him when it comes to adopting blockchain and crypto. This is because The Central African Republic has recently accepted Bitcoin as legal tender and the South African Reserve Bank is formulating rules to protect investors after launching Project Khokha 2, a web 3 program. 

“Africa will benefit substantially from leapfrogging on the fourth industrial technologies, and cryptocurrency is one of them,” James added.

James also mentioned that in Kenya, mobile money transactions that were only made possible through the willingness of the regulator to try out new technology have surpassed the use of hard currency. 

Conclusively, the new technology can help elevate Africa’s competitiveness, especially in the Fintech market. And linking crypto to mobile money seems like the new tactic.

Categories
Business

Spotify Testing NFT’s Galleries On Artist Profiles

Spotify, the world’s most popular music streaming service, is said to be experimenting with the integration of Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs) galleries on musician profiles. The embedding of NFTs will benefit both artists and fans if the study is successful.

Spotify is undertaking a test for selected Android app users in the United States, according to reports published on Friday. These users have access to the NFT previews on the artist pages. Only two musicians are now known for using NFTs: DJ and producer Steve Aoki and indie rock band The Wombats.

Although direct purchases are not feasible, the user can click on the OpenSea page, where they can learn about the NFT and see an enlarged preview before purchasing the item. According to sources, Spotify does not support videos or GIF formats and instead displays a static image without sound.

Musicians are looking into the NFT market, which might be a lucrative source of income, especially as COVID-19 continues to disrupt international touring.

Some Spotify users claimed to have received the NFT-related survey from the streaming provider via Twitter. Spotify is not getting a cut of NFT sales during the experiment, according to Music Ally.

Categories
Business

Africa Fintech Summit awards startups at Washington event.

One of the paneled sessions from the Africa Fintech Summit 2022

A number of African startups have been honoured with awards of excellence in their fields at the seventh edition of the Africa Fintech Summit held in Washington D.C last week. 

The Africa Fintech Summit is a global knowledge-sharing platform held twice a year to connect innovators, regulators and entrepreneurs looking to explore financial technology solutions that can improve African lives. 

The Summit facilitates conversations and partnerships, helps mobilize investments and provides an environment to negotiate enabling policies and share growth strategies while celebrating the achievements of stakeholders involved in charting Africa’s development path with progressive fintech. 

The timing of the event coincided with the 2022 Spring Meetings by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund and thus gave African and global fintech stakeholders who were already in Washington the opportunity to attend.

In a keynote address that focused on growth and expansion trends in Africa’s fintech industry, the director for Africa at the White House Security Council, Deniece Laurent-Mantey said, 

“We are in the midst of an unprecedented revolution in digital technology – one which is impacting every sector of the economy and social life, bringing people and nations closer together, and making the world a true global village.”

In 2021, the USA was found to be responsible for 62% of the top twenty investment deals in Africa so having the summit in D.C. gave the African entrepreneurs an opportunity to foster investor relationships right in the host country while showcasing their products.  

The event featured multiple insights-driven sessions from over 60 speakers and panellists across the fintech value chain and focused on fintech hotspots like investment trends in the industry, web3 and cryptocurrency, diaspora banking and remittances, fintech regulatory best practices and the future of banking. 

To cap off the spotlight of fintech in Africa, the Summit recognized major players who contributed to the continent’s technology industry and ecosystem through the Excellence in Fintech award ceremony. 

Among the winners was Flutterwave in the category of fintech infrastructure while peer-to-peer fintech platform, Paxful emerged as the winner in the cryptocurrency category. The full list of award winners:

  1. Fintech-banking relationships: EcoBank
  2. Fintech investment: Future Africa
  3. Cryptocurrency: Paxful
  4. Blockchain technology: Appzone Group
  5. Ecosystem research: Briter Bridges
  6. Cross-border solutions: PAPSS
  7. Digital banking: TeamApt
  8. Savings and invest-tech: PiggyVest
  9. Payments: Paystack
  10. Insurtech: Turaco
  11. Fintech and lending: Payhippo
  12. Embedded fintech: Cellulant
  13. Fintech infrastructure: Flutterwave
  14. Tradetech: AFEX

Since it was started in 2018, the Summit has raised more than $20 million in capital for African start-ups and the next edition of the Africa Fintech Summit will be held this November in Cape Town, South Africa.