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South African Cryptocurrency Holders Increase to 11.3%, 56% of Cryptocurrency Holders Hold Bitcoin – Emerging Markets Bitcoin News

According to the results of the most recent Finder survey, 11.3 percent of the 2,003 South African internet users polled possess cryptocurrencies. According to reports, the cryptocurrency has a slightly higher ownership percentage than the United States (10.5 %) and Sweden (9.8% ).

Nonetheless, as the survey results reveal, South Africa’s newest cryptocurrency ownership percentage remains below the global average, rising from 11.2 percent in October to 15.5 percent in December 2021. South Africa is now ranked 21st out of 27 countries surveyed.

In terms of the popularity of various cryptocurrencies, the statistics reveal that Bitcoin is owned by 56 percent of cryptocurrency owners in South Africa. With this percentage of Bitcoin users, South Africa is ranked second out of 27 nations. Other cryptocurrencies, though, appear to be making progress, according to the data.

“The number of cryptocurrency owners surveyed claimed they owned Bitcoin between now and the prior study.” According to the Finder study, the number of people who stated they owned Bitcoin plummeted from 73.5 percent in October to 56 percent in December.

Altcoin popularity grows

Ethereum is the second most popular cryptocurrency, according to the poll, with a share of 31.5 percent. This ownership rate is 7.1 percent greater than the global average of 24.4 percent, making South Africa the eighth-largest country in terms of Ethereum ownership. Ripple is in third rank with 25.8% of polled users owning it, followed by Dogecoin and Solana in fourth and fifth place, respectively.

At the same time, the poll discovered that 62 percent of people who claimed to hold cryptocurrency were men, while 38 percent were women. This indicates that in South Africa, “men are almost 1.6 times more likely than women to own bitcoin,” according to the survey report.

In contrast, the survey discovered that 48.7% of South Africans aged 18 to 34 own cryptocurrency. This is 16 percentage points greater than the figure for South Africans aged 35 to 54.

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Business

Singapore Regulator Clamps Down on Crypto Advertising

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the city-financial state’s services regulator, has ordered cryptocurrency businesses to cease public promotion.

As defined in Singapore, digital payment token (DPT) companies “should not portray the trading of DPTs [definition slug= “cryptocurrencies”]cryptocurrencies[/definition] in a manner that trivializes the high risks of trading in DPTs, and should not promote their DPT services in public areas in Singapore or through any other media directed at the general public in Singapore,” according to the MAS.

“The general public should not be encouraged to trade DPTs,” the regulator added.

As a result of this ruling, cryptocurrency businesses can only market their services on their own websites, mobile apps, or official social media accounts.

Importantly, crypto firms have been advised not to use third parties to promote their services, such as “social media influencers.”

Kim Kardashian, Floyd Mayweather, and Paul Pierce were sued last Monday for their participation in Ethereum Max advertising last year.

This isn’t the first time a Singaporean regulator has slammed the crypto business, and it’s also not the first time crypto-related advertisements have been slammed.

Singapore, Crypto, and Advertising

The MAS of Singapore had a run-in with Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange, last year.

The regulator placed Binance on the city-Investor state’s Alert List after confirming that the crypto exchange was not approved in August 2021—and added that a “substantial number of comparable enterprises failed to be licensed.”

Binance dropped their application for a license last December.

However, the controversy over crypto-related advertising has spread beyond Singapore’s boundaries.

The Advertising Standards Authority in the United Kingdom has cracked down hard on the industry’s advertising activities.

In the last two months, the ASA has prohibited crypto marketing from Coinbase, Papa John’s, eToro, Crypto.com, and Arsenal FC.

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Reviews

Crypto Trends to expect from Africa in 2022

For the global cryptocurrency business, 2021 will be remembered as one of the numerous years in which bitcoin surpassed its all-time high price and pushed the industry even closer to mainstream adoption. However, it is probably the year in which Africa grabbed center stage from a regional standpoint.

It’s difficult to navigate any of the key conversations surrounding the sector without mentioning activities on the continent, from a reported 1,200 percent increase in crypto adoption to the launch of Africa’s first central bank digital currency and the Central Bank of Nigeria’s circular on cryptocurrencies.

As we begin the new year, Marius Reitz, Luno’s General Manager for Africa, examines three significant factors that will affect the continent this year:

Rethinking Regulation

It would be an understatement to say that the regulation of Africa’s crypto business in 2021 was eventful. Last year, the continent’s largest economies took a more proactive approach to consumer protection, with one technique in particular gaining traction: blanket prohibitions. The consequences have been far from ideal for countries that have implemented these restrictions, with trade activity being pushed underground and authorities having a diminished amount of visibility of the industry.

With this in mind, we may see a greater willingness on the part of regulators to collaborate with industry actors to create a stronger and successful framework, which may encourage other African countries to follow suit. Blanket bans, as we’ve seen in China, do little to limit trading activity and safeguard consumers, but bringing in specialists who understand the complexities of new and complicated technologies like cryptocurrency can provide a wealth of information on how to protect consumers from its risks.

Kenya’s emergence

With Nigeria’s crypto prohibition dominating headlines in 2021, one notable development on the continent that may have gone unnoticed was Kenya’s classification as the world leader in P2P trading volumes for the second year in a row. With a rapidly growing crop of companies building blockchain-based solutions, the country’s crypto industry is booming, and given its young population, high levels of mobile connectivity, and familiarity with digital payment solutions like mobile money, it’s well positioned to become East Africa’s leading crypto hub by 2022.

However, the need of widespread crypto education cannot be overstated if any substantial progress in terms of mainstream adoption is to be accomplished. According to Luno’s 2021 consumer research survey, 64 percent of Kenyans do not invest in cryptocurrencies because they do not understand them. Given that Kenyans are also the most proactive in seeking financial advice from traditional sources (i.e. financial services companies, publications, and advisors) before making investment decisions, it is critical that crypto firms go above and beyond to ensure the right information is readily available.

A new solution to Africa’s remittances problem

It is no secret that investments are now the most common use case for cryptocurrencies in Africa; nevertheless, remittances could see a significant increase this year. According to the World Bank, total remittances in Sub-Saharan Africa alone exceeded $45 billion in 2021. However, with a severe lack of foreign currency reserves across Africa preventing companies from receiving international payments and remitting profits, many businesses may turn to cryptocurrencies as a substitute for handling cross-border transactions.

The open and decentralized blockchain networks that support cryptocurrencies are the primary strength in this sector, as they allow money to be quickly exchanged between parties without lag times or prohibitive costs, regardless of who or where they are. Progress in this area, like most aspects of the crypto economy, will be strongly reliant on a favorable regulatory climate, and if this occurs, cryptocurrencies might become a big asset for corporations with extensive operations across Africa.

Expect the Unexpected

Despite the enormous impact that advancements in the three areas indicated will have over the next year, they are far from the only ones to watch. Institutional investment into Africa’s crypto space, for example, remains a big challenge; but, more established nations on the continent, such as South Africa, may introduce better regulatory frameworks to promote more participation from these players.

As the industry expands in prominence, it attracts top talent as well as the attention of leading media outlets, which are devoting more resources to excellent reporting, and both of these trends are expected to continue. However, if the events of the last two years have taught us anything, it is to expect the unexpected. While this can often lead to uncertainty, a quick look at Africa’s current position and prospects should still inspire great confidence that it remains the most promising region for cryptocurrency adoption.

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Business

North Korean Hackers Stole Nearly $400 in Bitcoin, Ethereum in 2021: Report

Last year, North Korean cybercriminals launched at least seven attacks on bitcoin exchanges. According to Chainalysis, a blockchain analytics firm, these hacks netted about $400 million in digital assets.

In a blog post, the Chainalysis team stated, “Once North Korea obtained ownership of the assets, they initiated a careful laundering operation to cover up and pay out.”

In 2020, there were only four hacks linked to North Korea, compared to seven in 2021. According to Chainlaysis, the value of these hacks increased by 40% between 2020 and 2021. It’s worth mentioning, though, that the price of Bitcoin increased by 303 percent from 2020 to 2021, while the price of Ethereum, the second-largest crypto asset by market capitalization, increased by 472 percent.

According to Chainalysis, Bitcoin now accounts for less than a quarter of North Korean stolen cryptocurrency—in fact, Bitcoin currently accounts for only 20% of these stolen cash when assessed in dollar value.

Ethereum, on the other hand, accounts for the great majority of the Hermit Kingdom’s stolen assets. Ethereum now accounts for 58 percent of North Korea’s stolen digital money.

This, in turn, sheds light on the methods used by North Korea to launder stolen cryptocurrency funds.

According to Chainalysis, the process begins with a decentralized exchange swapping Ethereum-based ERC-20 tokens and other cryptocurrencies for Ethereum (ETH). The Ethereum is then sent through a “mixer,” which according to Chainalysis is “software tools that pool and scramble cryptocurrency from thousands of addresses.” These monies are subsequently exchanged for Bitcoin, mixed again, and then aggregated into a new wallet.

The mixed Bitcoin is then transmitted to deposit addresses at exchanges where it may be converted into fiat cash, which are mainly located across Asia.

In 2021, over 65 percent of North Korea’s stolen monies were laundered using mixers, demonstrating how important this strategy is to the regime’s illicit crypto enterprise. In 2020 and 2019, that percentage was only 42% and 21%, respectively.

The August 19 hack of Liquid.com, a crypto exchange, saw 67 distinct ERC-20 tokens—as well as some Bitcoin and Ethereum—moved to addresses controlled by North Korean-affiliated entities, making it one of the year’s highlights.

LAZARUS GROUP

The Lazarus Group, managed by North Korea’s top intelligence agency, the Reconnaissance General Bureau, is the most well-known state-backed cybercriminal organization at its disposal.

Following North Korea’s WannaCry and Sony Pictures cyber strikes, the Lazarus Group became well-known.

“Every year since 2018, the organization has stolen and laundered huge sums of virtual currency, generally in excess of $200 million,” according to Chainalysis.

Lazarus Group has also targeted KuCoin, a famous cryptocurrency exchange, for their efforts, putting up about $250 million in cryptocurrencies.

UNLAUNDERED FUNDS

According to Chainalysis’ analysis, 49 distinct hacks spanning 2017 to 2021 resulted in $170 million in stolen cryptocurrency from North Korea.

These monies have not yet been cleaned up. In fact, North Korea now has almost $55 million in cash from strikes dating back to 2016.

“It’s unclear why the hackers are still sitting on these funds, but it’s possible they’re hoping law enforcement interest in the cases will fade away, allowing them to cash out without being watched,” Chainlaysis said, adding that North Korea’s holding of the funds “suggests a careful plan, not a desperate and hasty one.”

NEXT STEPS

North Korea has been dubbed a “country that fosters cryptocurrency-enabled crime on a global scale” by Chainlaysis, owing to the vast quantity of laundered and unlaundered funds in its possession.

Furthermore, Chainalysis claims that North Korea’s government has “cemented itself as an advanced persistent danger to the cryptocurrency business in 2021” through Lazarus Group or others.

Despite this, the crypto analytics platform believes that the “inherent transparency of many cryptocurrencies” may offer a solution.

“With blockchain analytical tools, compliance teams, criminal investigators, and hack victims may track stolen monies, recover assets, and hold bad actors accountable for their crimes.”

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Business

PayPal explores launching its own stable coin

PayPal, a well-known global financial technology company, has shown an interest in investigating the idea of developing its own stablecoin, PayPal Coin.

Steve Moser, the app developer for PayPal’s iPhone app, discovered the company’s intentions for introducing its stablecoin. He stumbled onto hidden code and pictures depicting a “PayPal Coin.” According to the code, the coin will be backed by US dollars.

According to the report, Jose Fernandez da Ponte, PayPal’s senior vice president for digital and cryptocurrency, says:

“We are exploring a stablecoin; if and when we decide to move forward, we will, of course, work in close connection with the appropriate regulators.”

PayPal has recently become heavily interested in bitcoin activities. In the second quarter of 2020, the fintech company began offering cryptocurrency purchases. The “Checkout using Crypto” option was released in the beginning of 2021, allowing customers to purchase things using their digital currency.

According to sources, PayPal CEO Jose Fernandez stated in an interview last November 2021 that the company has “not yet found any stablecoin expressly created for purpose-built transactions.”

“Stablecoin must be able to manage multiple payments on a big scale while ensuring network security,” he stated.

PayPal also unveiled plans to form a separate business unit dedicated to its crypto aims, which would include working with regulators outside of the US to encourage new digital currencies. Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, and Ether are among the cryptocurrencies that PayPal currently supports.

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Technology

22-year-old Indonesian student makes $1 million selling his selfies as NFTs

Sultan Gustaf Al Ghozali, a 22-year-old student, was able to profit from the NFT craze and become a millionaire. He was able to do so by selling selfies of himself as an NFT on OpenSea, the world’s largest NFT marketplace.

Al Ghozali is an Indonesian college student majoring in Computer Science who lives in Semarang, the capital and largest city of Indonesia’s Central Java region. Nearly 1,000 selfie photographs have been converted and sold as NFTs by him.

“It’s really a picture of me standing in front of the computer day by day,” – Ghozali on the OpenSea profile where the collection is up for sale.

He claims that between the ages of 18 and 22, he shot images of himself for five years as a method to reflect on his graduating journey. In December 2021, he transformed these selfies into NFTs and posted them to OpenSea.

Ghozali took selfies in front of his computer while sitting or standing, which were then turned into NFTs and posted to OpenSea. Without expecting serious purchasers, the artist set the price of each NFT selfie at $3.

While monetizing his expressionless images, Ghozali stated, “You can do anything like flipping or whatever but please don’t abuse my photos or my parents will be very disappointed in me. I believe in you guys so please take care of my photos.”

Ghozali has 933 NFTs selfies on his account as of today, with 489 owners. The collection has seen 333 ETH traded, bringing the total amount to $1,107,225 at today’s price of $3,325 per token. His collection now has a floor price of 0.18 ETH ($598.50), up from a minimum price of 0.001ETH or $3 when it was first listed.

Ghozali’s NFT offering blew up, contrary to his wildest expectations, as notable members of Crypto Twitter showed support by acquiring and pushing the offerings. Arnold Poernomo, a Twitter user, uploaded a snapshot of his collection with the statement; Ghozali happened…the year of Gozali @Ghozali_Ghozalu.”

He additionally personalizes the selfies by including some background information with them, adding to the NFT selfie’s rarity. “Every #NFT shot I take has a story behind it,” he said in response to a Twitter user who chose one of his NFTs as his profile image. He even has one selfie taken while having his second corona vaccine.

Despite the general crypto market’s recent sluggishness, the NFT marketplace and the blockchain gaming business continue to experience significant transaction volumes. The number of UAW linked to Ethereum NFT DApps has increased by 43% during Q3 2021, according to DappRadar statistics.

Furthermore, NFT trading generated $11.9 billion in the first ten days of 2022, up from $10.7 billion in Q3 2021.

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Opinions

Cryptocurrency poised to take new twist in 2022 – experts

Experts now predict that the African blockchain ecosystem will mature as more projects enter the global market.

This comes after a fantastic year for the crypto ecosystem in Africa and around the world in 2021, despite being severely damaged by the pandemic.

Africa’s Director for Binance, Emmanuel Babalola, observes that the continent has seen growth as well as notable development in terms of innovation, legislation, and acceptance.

According to specialists at Binance, a cryptocurrency infrastructure provider, interest and innovation in decentralized finance will continue to grow in 2022.

Decentralized finance has seen the emergence of basic building elements such as crypto lending in retrospect.

However, there have been difficulties in three areas: experienced hands, liquidity, and social or game fi.

“Despite the dubious foundation of meme coins, it appears there is no slowing down the growing number of users eager to make a quick money,” Babalola said in a statement announcing the firm’s forecasts for 2022.

As a result, cryptocurrency exchanges will have to choose between protecting non-crypto native consumers from the high risks connected with meme coins and providing customers with the tokens they want to trade.

While the number of crypto users is currently modest in comparison to traditional finance, experts believe that laws may help to attract people from traditional finance to crypto.

“The Binance team is excited to continue working with all policymakers on the future of stablecoins,” – Balalola .

The field of blockchain and cryptocurrencies is rich with innovation, having just been around for a little more than a decade.

Binance Labs seeks out, invests in, and empowers viable blockchain entrepreneurs, businesses, and communities, as well as offering funding to industry projects that contribute to the overall growth of the blockchain ecosystem.

Bill Chin, the head of Binance Labs Fund, stated that by the end of 2022, the cryptocurrency infrastructure provider hopes to have nurtured a total of 50 world-class and industry-leading portfolio businesses.

Based on last year’s results and predictions for the coming year, it’s clear that Africa’s current position in the global cryptocurrency ecosystem has a lot of promise, with a lot of adoption and penetration prospects to start enjoying the freedom of money.

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Opinions

El Salvador’s Controversial Bitcoin Year: A Timeline

El Salvador’s President, Nayib Bukele, said last June at the Bitcoin Conference in Miami that his country would soon embrace Bitcoin as legal cash.

That news drew a round of applause from Miami’s Bitcoin community, as well as praise from some of Bitcoin’s most outspoken supporters—Caitlin Long, Michael Saylor, and Peter McCormack—on social media. Others, including many El Salvador residents, were less enthused.

El Salvador’s Bitcoin Law took effect on September 7th, after months of demonstrations and debate. From protests to Bitcoin volcanoes to unlawful arrests and lawsuits, we’ve got a rundown of everything that’s transpired since El Salvador’s huge Bitcoin push.

Bitcoin hits the beach.

Bitcoin has been widely seen as anti-state from its inception over a decade ago, as a financial option for individuals who oppose government overreach and perceived financial establishment privacy violations.

But in El Salvador, Bitcoin took an unexpected turn: it became the government’s preferred currency.

“I will send a measure to Congress next week that will make Bitcoin legal tender,” Bukele assured the raucous Miami audience.

Despite its unusual nature, Bukele’s action was inspired by Bitcoin’s strategy. El Salvador’s state-wide inflation buffer was created by his policy.

El Salvador, as one of the few non-US economies that use the US dollar, is heavily reliant on remittances, which are funds sent back to friends and family from individuals working abroad (typically in the US).

Bukele, like many other Bitcoiners, has bemoaned the dollar’s proneness to inflation. To make matters worse, the money is not under Salvadorans’ democratic control. Salvadorans can only watch as their purchasing power diminishes if Washington, D.C. adopts economic policies that cause inflation.

It’s no longer the case. Bitcoin became Bukele’s new Salvadoran currency of choice due to its perceived value as a hedge against inflation.

“Today, the world changes for the better. Today, humanity takes a leap forward in instilling human freedom, financial inclusivity, and so much more,” Strike’s Jack Mallers raved on the day of Bukele’s announcement.

Putting the world on notice
When Bukele initially declared his support for Bitcoin in Miami, he was speaking to a small but fervent Bitcoin maximalist subset of the larger crypto community.

The rest of the world has been less excited about Bitcoin as legal cash because of its economics.

El Salvador’s decision to make Bitcoin legal cash produced various “macroeconomic, financial, and legal challenges that demand extremely thorough consideration,” according to the International Monetary Fund in June.

The World Bank weighed in the same month, stating that it would not assist El Salvador in making Bitcoin legal tender due to worries about the cryptocurrency’s lack of transparency and well-documented environmental damage.

Another red flag was raised by JPMorgan. “There are definitely substantial consequences for that country,” analysts at the bank stated in June. “However, it is difficult to envision any actual economic gains connected with adopting Bitcoin as the second form of legal cash.”

Zap Solutions Inc., whose digital wallet Strike has been used to enable cash-to-crypto transactions in El Salvador, has also been the subject of criticism. Zap was found to be operating without a license in the majority of US states, according to a Decrypt investigation. Many crypto purchases to El Salvador using Strike, according to experts, are likely unlawful.

Strike and CEO Jack Mallers did not respond to Decrypt’s requests for comment. Zap has since obtained money transmitter licenses in 17 states across the United States.

The Bank of England highlighted some of the same worries as the World Bank and IMF only last month. Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, expressed concern over the country’s embrace of Bitcoin, saying that the “people of El Salvador understand the nature and volatility of the money they have.”

However, the past seven months have shown that El Salvador’s residents are aware of Bitcoin and do not want it imposed as legal cash.

Domestic Bitcoin controversies
The implementation of the Bitcoin Law and accompanying Chivo wallet in El Salvador has been far from straightforward.

Salvadorans have started reporting Bitcoin sums disappearing from their Chivo accounts without explanation only this month. To make matters worse, President Bukele has remained silent in the face of these reports. However, many Salvadorans have expressed dissatisfaction with the notion of Bitcoin being mandated by the government, not with the technology. Bukele had earlier stated that Salvadorans would not be forced to use Bitcoin if they so desired, but this has not been the case.

“What if someone doesn’t want to utilize Bitcoin?” says the narrator. “Well, nothing,” he tweeted in August, “don’t download the Chivo app and go about your business.”

Despite the statement by Bukele, the Bitcoin Law implied the contrary. Article 7 of the new law, states that “any economic agent must accept Bitcoin as payment when provided to him by whoever acquires a good or service.” As a result, Bitcoin will seemingly be compulsorily used by local merchants.

Salvadorans protested, protested again, and protested once again in opposition to Bitcoin. Several surveys conducted by universities revealed that the vast majority of Salvadorans thought Bukele’s Bitcoin bet was a bad idea.

Jaime Guevara, the Deputy Leader of El Salvador’s opposition party, the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front, has taken the government to court. A group of persons who believe the law is unconstitutional and harmful backed Guevara.

So far, these measures have had little effect: Bukele, who has a well-documented authoritarian inclination, has continued to fly the Bitcoin flag.

A public blockchain with no transparency

El Salvador’s police enforcement detained Mario Gomez, a well-known Bitcoin critic, without a warrant in September.

“Mario was abducted by the cops. On the condition of anonymity, a local businessperson informed the media site Decrypt that he was ‘arrested’ without a judicial order. “It’s not apparent why Mario was shackled,” Gomez’s lawyer, Otto Flores, added.

Despite El Salvador’s harsh treatment of Bitcoin critics, the country’s judiciary secretly worked to strengthen Bukele’s grip on power. Foreign powers, including the United States, blasted a September judgment that permitted Bukele to serve two terms as president in a row as illegal.

Another Bukele opponent, Jose Miguel Vivanco, was blunt in his tweet: “What’s next? If we go by Venezuela’s past, suppression of the press, restrictions on civil society, complete impunity for human rights crimes, arrests of political opponents, and electoral fraud.”

When and how much should you buy Bitcoin?

Bukele has purchased almost 1,000 BTC using public funds as of today’s date.

If you look for the phrase “purchased the dip” on Bukele’s Twitter timeline, you’ll gain some insight into the president’s Bitcoin investment strategy. In September, October, November, early December, and days before Christmas, he purchased 150 BTC, 420 BTC, 100 BTC, 150 BTC, and 21 BTC, respectively.

The transparency, however, ends there. Nobody knows who has custody of the country’s private keys as of yet, which is a big problem given that El Salvador’s Bitcoin is being added to the Treasury.

In September last year, Nolvia Serrano, BlockBank’s chief of operations in El Salvador, remarked, “There are so many things that are not being disclosed. For example, who is in possession of the Bitcoin private keys? Also, what are the criteria for deciding whether or not to buy more Bitcoin today or wait till next month? That is something we are unaware of.”

“There’s no room for making bad decisions on this,” Serrano continued, “and we need to be transparent because the cryptocurrency community cares about these ideas.”

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Business

Block, formerly Square, is getting into bitcoin mining, says Jack Dorsey

Square CEO Jack Dorsey revealed in October that the financial services company (now rebranded Block) is “considering establishing a Bitcoin mining infrastructure.” Three months later and those considerations have become reality.

“We’re officially building an open bitcoin mining system,” Dorsey tweeted today in response to a tweet thread from Block General Manager of hardware Thomas Templeton. 

Block is developing a low-maintenance, low-cost Bitcoin mining equipment for everyday users that is also quiet enough to be operated at home, according to Templeton. Templeton said of mining rigs being unreliable and is quoted to have said,,  “Almost every day, they become unusable, necessitating a lengthy restart. We want to create a system that is simple to use.”

Block claims it will not do it alone, but it is assembling a team that comprises systems and software engineers as well as ASIC mining experts.

“We are interested in performance and open-source and our own elegant system integration ideas,” he wrote.

Dorsey previously stated that the company may assist in the development of a more energy-efficient mining method than is now available. In October, he tweeted, “Energy is a system-level problem requiring innovation in silicon, software, and integration.”

Apart from Dorsey’s October hint, Block’s foray into Bitcoin hardware seems unsurprising. Its 45-year-old CEO is a Bitcoin maximalist who previously stated that if Bitcoin needed him more, he would step down from his CEO positions. In June 2021, he told attendees at Bitcoin Miami, “I don’t think there’s anything more important in my life to work on.” Dorsey did, in fact, resign as Twitter’s CEO in November [year], allowing him to devote more time to Square.

Square changed its name to Block in a couple of days, symbolizing the blockchain technology that underpins Bitcoin. Square’s Cash App, which enables Bitcoin purchases, has also increased its marketing efforts, reaching new audiences with celebrity BTC giveaways on Instagram and Twitter, to celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow.

Square isn’t solely dedicated to Bitcoin mining. Its TBD section published a white paper proposing a decentralized exchange for trading Bitcoin and fiat currency in mid-November. Cash App also announced this week that it would begin integrating with the Bitcoin Lightning Network, which allows users to transmit Bitcoin at a cheaper transaction cost.

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Business

Kenya set to take cryptocurrencies to the next level

Luno’s general manager for Africa, Marius Reitz, predicts that the cryptocurrency business in Kenya will flourish this year. At the moment, around 10% of Kenya’s population holds digital assets. In terms of blockchain transactions and crypto ownership, the state ranks among the top ten countries in the world.

This prediction was made by Reitz, who noted that crypto usage in Africa is increasing. Last year, he feels, the market began to perform nicely. He goes on to say that the usage of digital currencies in Africa has increased by 1200 percent.

Kenya had been performing well in peer-to-peer trade, he noted. He went on to say that the country ranked first in the globe in terms of volume for the second year in a row. In addition, the state is rated fifth in the world in terms of total bitcoin activity.

Favorable regulatory climate

The country’s crypto business, according to Reitz, is heavily utilizing the market. Blockchain-based solutions are being developed by a growing number of companies. Kenya is also thinking about how crypto knowledge may affect the country’s youth. East Africa’s adoption of cryptocurrency is likely to be led by the country.

Nonetheless, Reitz stated that the country’s legislation will have a significant impact on the crypto industry’s progress. Digital assets will flourish if there is a favorable regulatory environment. They may turn out to be a valuable asset for large corporations across Africa. According to Reitz, Africa is in a better position than other continents to accept cryptocurrencies.

Three years ago, Kenya’s Bitcoin holdings represented around 3% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Given that ten countries have similar levels of GDP invested in digital assets, this is a significant amount. The residents of the country hold a high regard for cryptocurrency, as the country is the world’s leading Bitcoin maximalist state. The state has the highest level of interest in bitcoin searches, at around 95%. Kenya is also among the top ten countries in the world when it comes to cryptocurrency. Africa has made significant progress in recent years. The largest crypto countries are Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe. Kenyans have prospered in the cryptocurrency market without emigrating to other countries.