Author: Staff

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Business

Bekonta Raises Awareness For More Blockchain User Education In Nigeria

Crypto Trading Platform, Bekonta, is raising more awareness for more Blockchain user education in Nigeria as blockchain gains more popularity across the globe. This is geared toward helping Nigerians understand the blockchain ecosystem so that they can position themselves to benefit from this wealth transfer era. 

As African entrepreneurs continue to develop solutions and create additional use cases for cryptocurrencies, Bekonta believes that raising awareness through educating users on blockchain technology will increase crypto adoption.

Furthermore, the Nigerian Fintech enterprise is trying to create an environment that would guide Nigerians into a world where cryptocurrency plays an important role in their daily lives.

Nigerians, for example, can use the Bekonta app to pay for things like electricity bills, TV subscriptions, and even top up their airtime. Users that understand how crypto works have taken advantage of what this new technology has to offer, which has contributed significantly to the success of crypto adoption in Nigeria.

The Nigerian crypto market may not be at its pinnacle right now because many people are still unaware of digital currencies, but Bekonta intends to change that soon.

According to a Luno survey, 55 percent of Nigerians are unfamiliar with crypto, compared to 56 percent and 64 percent in South Africa and Kenya, respectively.

A lack of knowledge of the blockchain has been a huge impediment to those researching the crypto industry. Many respondents exhibited a great desire to learn about new and diverse crypto assets beyond Bitcoin, according to a Coinbase study but didn’t know where to start.

Celebrities, musicians, and influencers are already releasing their own NFTs, as these tokens allow more ways for their audiences to participate in the crypto realm. Despite the fact that crypto adoption in Africa is still in its early stages, the more blockchain dialogues that are sparked across industries, the more novel use cases for crypto emerge in Africa.

As a result, Bekonta encourages other Nigerian crypto companies to not only educate their users about the advantages of owning and investing in cryptocurrency but also to share more about the use cases and real-world applications of blockchain technology, so that users can see firsthand how cryptocurrency can help them in their daily lives.

Bekonta Co-founder, Seth Reuben explained, “Blockchain technology is evolving at a fast pace. Hence, it is important to bridge the knowledge gap for the average Nigerian youth so they can tap into the various career and investment opportunities this sector brings. Crypto has come to stay and we hope soon enough, everybody will get involved.”

With the acceleration of crypto adoption, crypto scams are also on the rise. Many fake platforms are out there to swindle people’s funds. So, users must stay informed about these phishing scams to protect their wallets. Here are some safety tips for crypto users to keep their accounts safe: 

  • Don’t use the same password for your crypto-enabled accounts.
  • Properly verify any link you see on the web before you click.
  • Turn on 2-Factor authentication on your devices and accounts.

To sum it up, more people need to understand what blockchain is, why it is essential, and how they can utilize it to improve their lives, as the blockchain industry gives an opportunity for Africans to escape poverty. In order for crypto adoption to become more popular in Nigeria, user education will be critical.

Categories
Technology

NFT initiative brings blockchain and conservation together

Cyber Rhino Squad (CRS), a new conservation program, blends blockchain technology with wildlife protection. The goal of the Swiss program is to create a community of supporters who love art and wish to assist species conservation by using Non-FungibleTokens (NFT) — unchangeable digital certificates.

“Our idea is to work with strong NGOs such as Keep Nature Alive from Germany, the Wildlife Conservation Network from the USA, and other NGOs in Africa to support sustainable species conservation with the help of the international community,” says Lucas Pennewiss, founder of Cyber Rhino Squad.  

“Protecting biodiversity concerns us all, and if you can also combine this important goal with offbeat art, it’s a perfect outcome for the community, for species conservation and for us,” says Raul Mächler, the Co-founder of Cyber Rhino Squad.

CRS’s first NFT collection will include 6,000 rhinos, two of which are particularly noteworthy, representing the only two northern white rhinos on the globe – mother and daughter: Najin and Fatu.

“The international BioRescue consortium is made up of scientists and conservationists working very hard and running against time to save this ecologically important species,” explains Steven Seet, scientific member of BioRescue and CEO of Keep Nature Alive. 

Reasons for the conservation

Since 1965, rhinos have been on the Red List of Threatened Species. They have shown to be a unique animal species throughout the course of 50 million years, and they are among the umbrella species that are critical for other species and an entire ecosystem. Rhinos were formerly common throughout Asia and Africa, but their numbers are rapidly dwindling, with about 23,000 rhinos left on the planet. Apart from land use disputes and habitat damage, illegal hunting is the primary driver of the rhino population decline. A rhino horn is worth more than gold on the underground market.

“Anyone who purchases a Cyber Rhino Squad NFT not only acquires a fascinating work of art from a famous artist, but also makes an active contribution to global species conservation and, in this particular case, to the protection of rhinos. Cyber Rhino Squad’s main goal is to help prevent the extinction of the northern white rhino and to double the population by 2030. To this end, a share of the sales proceeds will be donated to www.BioRescue.org for support.” says Mächler.

Each rhino NFT by Cyber Rhino Squad is unique and a collector’s item with a wide variety of feature combinations. The current collection was created by the sought-after Polish artist Damian Augustyniak. Among other things, he has become known as the creator of GuzikArt. Augustyniak has already worked for famous musicians such as Joey Ramone of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band “Ramones”, but also for bands such as Slayer, Sabaton, Exodus, Party Cannon, Ankor, and many more. He has also worked on other NFT projects such as “Wicked Apes Bone Club”, making him one of the most sought-after and respected artists in the NFT world.

The 6,000 individual pieces, unlike most other NFT collections, come with full commercial rights of usage. Furthermore, customers are permitted to take part in virtual animal excursions in the Metaverse. The Metaverse is a Web 3.0 feature that allows users to travel around in digital environments to share experiences, learn new things, and even make trades. The number 6,000 reflects the weight of the white rhino, which is the strongest and largest rhino species. This species, after the elephant, is the second-largest land mammal, weighing up to 6,000 pounds.

The “Swiss guys” want to do it right, so they’ve applied for membership in the Blockchain Conservation Consortium, which ensures that NFT-initiatives follow an ethical code that ensures that the company acts sustainably and continuously reduces its carbon footprint while compensating it in an evidence-based manner through an auditing program.

Categories
Business

Crypto Projects waving the green flag for Earth Day.

On 22nd April 1970, the world joined hands to commemorate Earth day with efforts geared to protect the environment, restore damaged ecosystems and make life more sustainable. In the 52 years since a lot has changed and lately blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies have been heralded for their ability to make life more sustainable and improve some of our systems. This presents the perfect opportunity to look at how crypto projects can align with the eco-friendly Earth day mission. 

Because there are so many parameters involved, it is a substantially difficult task to identify one crypto project as being “greener” than others. Taking an example of the cryptocurrency market with over 10,000 coins in existence currently, many much smaller cryptocurrencies naturally have a far lower energy footprint than Bitcoin. This is because they involve far fewer daily transactions yet scaling them up could reveal they may be just as bad, if not worse than the cryptocurrency that has been red-lighted by some green movements.

There are however some cryptocurrencies that are inherently more energy-efficient than Bitcoin based on their operating model. While Bitcoin relies on a ‘Proof of Work’ mechanism that involves huge amounts of calculations (and, thus, processing power) to produce a single token, cryptocurrencies using a ‘Proof of Storage’ or ‘Proof of Stake’ system uses far less energy.

Using Credit to get to Zero. 

Since it is practically impossible to generate zero-carbon emissions; many companies around the world are looking at ways to counterbalance their carbon emissions, mainly using carbon credits and offsets.

Carbon credits represent the right granted by an area’s environmental regulatory agency to emit a certain amount of carbon-based on the ability to absorb this carbon. Essentially one shows that they have a certain number and/or size of carbon sinks (trees, oceans, swamps and the like that are verified to absorb a certain amount of carbon dioxide) and then they are allowed to go ahead with whatever (legal) activity they want. 

Quantifying carbon emissions thus is crucial in the Earth day crusade and projects such as Pachama are utilizing artificial intelligence to calculate, quantify and report carbon footprint data for the purpose of enhancing accountability and transparency within the corporate and Web3 industries. 

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In addition to this, the head of growth and partnerships at Toucan Protocol, Sander DiAngelis advocates for the merging of physical and digital initiatives like distributing carbon credits on blockchain technology- a service provided by Toucan Protocol. He  is quoted saying that they create “virtual carbon sinks that generate real-world planet-positive impact.”

Thinking inside the box

While some climate change advocates look to make changes from outside the companies charged with unhealthy emissions, others have looked within; ClimateDAO’s approach involves members pooling resources to buy shares in big polluting companies so that they can influence the company’s actions towards sustainability from within. 

As we continue down the path towards sustainability, the climate crisis presents a major stumbling block while literally and figuratively remaining a major frontier for multiple cutting-edge developments across blockchain and Web3 technologies.

Categories
Business

Central African Republic Adds Bitcoin to its Legal Tender.

The Central African Republic has reportedly become Africa’s first country (and the world’s second) country to accept Bitcoin as legal tender. In theory, this means you can pay for any goods and services in the Central African Republic (C.A.R.) using Bitcoin- but just like with Mobile Money or credit and debit bank cards, this will depend on whether the service provider has the right infrastructure to accept it. 

In a move spearheaded by the country’s Minister of Digital Economy, and Telecommunications, Gourna Zacko along with Calixte Nganongo, the Minister Of Finance and Budget, the Central African Republic drafted a law that sets a framework for cryptocurrency regulation and the adoption of Bitcoin as an official currency. 

C.A.R. opted for Bitcoin with their National Assembly unanimously passing a bill to have the world’s most valuable cryptocurrency as legal tender. Despite their initial opposition to the initiative, the legislative organizations Mouvement Coeurs Unis (MCU) and Mouvement National des Indépendants (MOUNI) voted in favour of passing the bill in order to promote the nation’s greatest interests, which include prosperity and stability.

Samson Mow, former chief strategy officer of Blockstream, noted the Central African Republic’s Bitcoin adoption on Twitter and said it was “another domino.”

Out of the 6 countries that use the Central African Franc (XAF), 4 are now actively on the journey into digital currencies and this will provide an interesting opportunity to watch how the financial and trading environments will evolve in the region as other countries within the Central African region are reported to be exploring localized stablecoins as the digital currency.   

It is also essential to keep an eye on how this Bitcoin adoption will unfold given the case study of El Salvador as the first country to adopt the currency as legal tender in the world. Since its adoption of Bitcoin in September 2021, El Salvador has seen a number of speed bumps including network issues and pushback from the International Monetary Fund and having observed these, C.A.R. hopes to achieve a smoother adoption. 

Cryptocurrency trader Michaël van de Poppe noted that governmental Bitcoin adoption is “growing” after the African nation announced its adoption of Bitcoin. 

With a relatively small 2020 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of about $2.303 billion (when Uganda had $37.37 billion and Kenya had $98.88 billion), this endeavour may radically revolutionize the C.A.R’s digital infrastructure by incorporating the blockchain technological innovation required to give people a chance to tap into the cryptocurrency space. 

As an explosive field that is increasingly becoming popular with the world’s largest financial players and investors, the world of cryptocurrencies can provide a new, cutting-edge path of development and economic performance for the nation that is looking to bounce back from the effects of the pandemic.

Categories
Business

Cryptocurrency Regulator Proposed by the Central African Republic

Following yesterday’s cryptocurrency approval as legal tender by the country, The Central African Republic has now created a legal framework to regulate the use of cryptocurrency. According to the Finance Minister, Herve Ndoba, lawmakers adopted proposals including the creation of a regulatory body that will oversee digital currencies in the country. 

“The legislation that is being put in place aims to facilitate the use of cryptocurrencies in the economy.” He emphasized.

“There’s a common narrative that sub-Saharan African countries are often one step behind when it comes to adapting to new technology. This time, we can actually say that our country is one step ahead.” Ndoba said.

The Finance Minister also highlighted that the proposed legislation is not an attempt to follow El Salvador’s lead. 

The Central African Republic has gold and diamond reserves but remains one of the world’s poorest countries. Additionally, years of political conflicts and crises have had a severe impact on the economy and damaged relationships so lawmakers believe this is the right move to accelerate the country’s economic development.

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Business

Dogecoin surges 26% after Twitter accepts Elon Musk’s $44 billion bid

Twitter has now entered a new era, in which it is fully controlled by Dogecoin’s largest fan, Elon Musk. After Twitter approved Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s US$44 billion deal to buy the social media site, Dogecoin has now re-emerged in the crypto top ten.  Following the announcement of the deal, Dogecoin is now up 26% as of this writing, hitting $0.1675. Bitcoin and Ethereum, on the other hand, were up 1.6 percent and are now 2% respectively. Clearly, Elon Musk’s accomplishments have a tendency to affect the price of Dogecoin.

The prospect of Musk taking over the social networking platform has stimulated the interest of the cryptocurrency community, including Dogecoin creator Billy Markus. “Can Elon Musk also buy the SEC now?” he wondered, referring to the regulator’s notoriously sluggish approval of a spot market Bitcoin ETF. MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor, one of the world’s top Bitcoin whales, congratulated Musk on Twitter, citing the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, which states that the Government cannot restrict a citizen’s right to free speech.

Musk’s decision to purchase the company was based on a pro-free speech argument. In a recent SEC filing, he hailed Twitter’s potential to become a “platform for free speech around the globe,” but he said he didn’t believe that would be possible if it remained a public corporation.

However, while in control, Musk has promised to “fight the spambots,” a problem that has plagued millions of Twitter users in the past. In a statement, Musk continued, “Twitter has tremendous potential. I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it.”

Saylor has recommended using Bitcoin’s Lightning Network to solve Twitter’s spam problem. He advocated that Twitter users be able to load a particular amount of satoshis (BTC’s smallest unit) onto their accounts in order to unlock an orange checkmark. Human users may be validated swiftly in this fashion, without the need for the present know-your-customer (KYC) procedures that are required to earn the coveted blue checkmark.

Twitter already has the technology in place to accept Bitcoin and Ethereum payments, and there is speculation that Dogecoin functionality may be added soon under Musk’s leadership.

Categories
Business

South Africa Reserve Bank (SARB) Governor Advises Regulators to Evolve with the Financial Markets

Following the release of the Khokha report 2, the Governor of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB), Lesetja Kganyago, has implored regulators and policymakers to play a critical role as financial technology continues to expand globally.

Central banks and regulators, according to the Governor, should ‘evolve alongside financial markets’ to guarantee that they remain relevant in future markets, just as they are now.

During the virtual speech, the Governor stressed the importance of regulators and policymakers participating since decentralized financial markets are unable to meet some public demands, such as Consumer Protection, Financial Stability and Stability, and Soundness.

The Governor, whose Central Bank gleaned some insights from testing blockchain technology for interbank settlement in the two Khokha projects, has also emphasized that policymakers and regulators can help shape a prospective shift to blockchain-based financial systems.

He even gave some pointers, such as examining the implications of innovation, promoting responsible innovation for the public good, and informing an appropriate policy and regulatory response.

Project Khokha 2, the country’s second phase of interbank settlement systems trials, began in February 2021 and entailed the establishment of two types of tokenized money to enable settlement between financial institutions.

SARB’s contribution to broader discussions surrounding the regulatory treatment of crypto assets and financial sector innovation, according to the Governor, is the Project Khokha 2 report.

Project Khokha 1 examined the use of blockchain for interbank settlements by successfully replicating some functions of the South African real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system on blockchain.

Sourced from BiTKE

Categories
Blockchain

Crypto-trading platforms for Africans

Cryptocurrencies are not yet recognized as legal tender by most countries. They have however continued to gain massive adoption (especially after COVID-19). People use it to store value, trade, and as investments.

Most of the services relating to trading that is to say buying and selling are available on crypto exchanges. Each of these crypto exchange platforms (available as apps) are situated in Africa and have a large daily trading volume by Africans. The platforms also provide learning materials for crypto enthusiasts who want to delve into the cryptocurrency space.

Here’s an overview of some of the  cryptocurrency exchange platforms: 

Binance

Binance is one of the most popular blockchains and crypto-asset exchanges in Sub-Saharan Africa. The app is simple, secure, fast, and for beginners friendly. Binance averages a daily trading volume of more than $76 billion dollars..  

Launched in 2017, the leading global digital asset exchange enables users from over 180 countries to buy, sell and trade cryptocurrencies. A vital edge Binance has over other platforms is the vast number of cryptos that can be traded on the platform, which is over 380 pairs. Anyone from Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya can trade using this platform.

Luno

Luno is a crypto platform that is customized for Africans. Launched in 2013 in Singapore, Luno has a strong base in Nigeria, South Africa, Singapore, Malaysia, and over 40 more countries. It has a daily trading platform of over $18.62m daily.

The platform supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, USDC, XRP, Litecoin, Chainlink, and Uniswap including the Naira. The platform has a user-friendly interface and was the first exchange to permit customers to buy and sell crypto at zero transaction fees.

Quidax

Launched in 2018, Quidax is an African-focused cryptocurrency exchange that not only enables users to send, receive, store, buy and sell digital currencies but also enables fintech companies to provide crypto-related services to their customers such as chippercash.

Quidax recently became the first African crypto exchange to be listed on CoinMarketCap. The platform’s interface is easy to navigate and customers are not charged transaction fees.

BitFxt

BitFxt which operates as a blockchain technology company was launched in 2016 in Lagos. It provides a secure and easy way to trade, store and learn both digital and fiat currencies. Bitfxt currently operates in 13+ countries.

On the app, users can access crypto loans, pay utilities, trade and invest in digital currencies and also access other decentralized finance features. Its pre-installed digital wallet and debit card allow merchants globally to store and spend digital currencies.

BuyCoins

This cryptocurrency exchange was launched in 2017 as Bitkoin Africa then later BuyCoins Africa in 2018. A unique proposition of this platform is that not only do users trade digital currencies (such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, etc) they also buy & sell shares in companies such as Tesla and Amazon.

It provides secure wallet services for all supported cryptocurrencies. This means you won’t need to use external wallets to complete your transactions. 

Kucoin

KuCoin is a secure cryptocurrency exchange that makes buying, selling, and storing cryptocurrencies simple. It now features a new, easy-to-use interface. Kucoin, based in Seychelles, provides basic services such as crypto buying and selling, as well as deposit and withdrawal.

The platform has a daily transaction volume of $2.2 billion on average. Its application is geared at new traders, but more experienced traders will find all of the tools they need to trade well.

Categories
Business

Can Mobile Money Unlock Uganda’s Digital Potential?

In a population estimated at 45 million,  a question looms whether Uganda’s 31 million registered mobile money users are the key to financial inclusion in the digital economy. 

The digital economy contributes 7% to Uganda’s GDP. By comparison, Kenya, which serves as the East African region’s pacesetter in terms of financial inclusion and technology, has a 9.2% digital economy contribution while others surveyed countries like Rwanda and South Africa both stand at 3%. According to the International Monetary Fund, this is a positive growth indicator made possible by mobile phone penetration. 

Banking on the 49% mobile penetration in Uganda, mobile money is seen as a key driver for inclusion, especially at a time when most of the other digital technologies that rely on smartphones are being held back by the 16% smartphone adoption.

In 2020, mobile money transactions reached volumes of approximately UGX. 93.7 trillion, a figure that has grown substantially from the UGX. 133 billion that was transacted in its initiation year of 2009. This growth has been made possible by the forward linkages with other service providers such as SafeBoda, Jumia and utility payment options. 

Mobile money indeed provides access to financial services for a significant share of microentrepreneurs with 80% of small and mid-sized enterprises recorded as having a mobile money account linked to their business.

Despite the seemingly large transaction volume and increased uptake by businesses, there is a gap between registered users and active accounts that raises a major concern around the adoption and actual usage of the service. Of the 31 million registered users, only 21 million of these are active users. 

This could lead to a similar situation as seen with bank accounts in Uganda where according to the Deposits Protection Fund, 93% of the 14 million account holders do not have more than UGX. 1 million (less than 300 dollars). 

In a country where 41% of the population earns less than UGX. 5000 ( $1.49) a day, it is no surprise that issues around transaction fees and taxes associated with financial services are a major concern. 

Digital Financial Service providers are thus working together with the Government of Uganda to find the best ways to limit financial exclusion according to the nation’s Financial Inclusion Strategy. 

With an overall objective to reduce financial exclusion to 5% by the end of 2022, the Uganda National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) provides a roadmap of actions and agreed-upon steps by the public and private sectors to achieve a set of defined financial inclusion objectives.

Since its launch in October 2017, this strategy has allowed Uganda to launch agency and digital banking in 2018, and formulate regulations such as the Data Protection Act in 2019 and the National Payment Systems Act, 2020 all for the benefit and safety of Ugandans. 

Following the issuance of the first Fintech Licenses in 2021, the doors were opened for more players in the Digital payments, lending and remittance spaces. Many of these services are currently closely tied to mobile money which provides an acceptable middle ground between those left behind by banks and those who have not yet caught up with cryptocurrencies. 

Categories
Opinions

Ripple CEO calls out Bitcoin Maximalism.

Bitcoin has attracted criticism from Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse saying Bitcoin ‘tribalism’ is holding the crypto industry back. Speaking at the Paris Blockchain Week Summit earlier this month, the boss of the blockchain firm made remarks emphasizing

that polarization within the $2 trillion market is not healthy.

According to Garlinghouse, “tribalism” around bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is holding back the entire market. The tribalism referred to here is the tendency for players in the crypto market to favour or believe only in a particular coin’s merits and reject any other crypto at times out of sentiment.

Whether despite or because of the large sea of coins floating around the market, some digital coins have attracted quite a dedicated following — not least of which is Bitcoin, whose hardcore advocates are often referred to as “maximalists”. Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey and MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor are among the so-called Bitcoin maximalists who support only Bitcoin and not other cryptocurrencies.

For context, as a big industry big name, Michael Saylor’s stance on Bitcoin is seen as nearly reaching a state of religion when he is quoted saying “Money is something to live with. Bitcoin is something to live for.” Putting Bitcoin on a pedestal could be problematic as it can easily blind one to the flaws or shortfalls of the cryptocurrency.

Garlinghouse considers such maximalism excessive and thinks investors should diversify and put their trust in more assets. He backed these remarks with an admittance, “I own Bitcoin, I own ether, I own some others. I am an absolute believer that this industry is going to continue to thrive. All boats can rise.”

As a former Yahoo executive, Garlinghouse used a practical example when he compared the crypto industry today to the dot-com era of the late 1990s and early 2000s.

“Yahoo could be successful and so could eBay … They’re solving different problems,” he said. “There’s different use cases and different audiences and different markets. I think a lot of those parallels exist today.”

In a market with tens of thousands of cryptocurrencies in circulation worth a combined $2 trillion according to CoinGecko data, it is indeed evident that opportunities within the crypto market are growing. 

With cryptocurrency adoption on the rise, lawmakers around the world are in a running battle to establish regulatory frameworks that will protect the interests of the people while allowing the industry to thrive.

Garlington’s comments come after US President Joe Biden signed an executive order calling on the US Government to examine the risks and benefits of cryptocurrencies in March 2022. He argues that maximalism leaves the crypto industry with “fractured representation” when it comes to lobbying U.S. lawmakers.

“The lack of coordination in Washington, D.C., amongst the crypto industry, I find to be shocking,” he said.

Ripple is often linked with XRP, a cryptocurrency the company uses for cross-border payments. The company owns a majority of the 100 billion XRP tokens in circulation, which it periodically releases from an account to keep prices stable.

Ripple is in court with the Securities and Exchange Commission over allegations that it illegally sold over $1 billion worth of XRP in an unregistered securities offering. The company argues that XRP should be considered a virtual currency, not a security.