Author: Staff

Categories
Business

Xend Finance Launches New Innovative Products in Africa

Xend Finance tweeted on July 28 the launch of two pioneer products: XendBridge and SwitchWallet. XendBridge is a crypto payment application programmable interface (API) that processes crypto-fiat transactions while SwitchWallet is a free crypto storage service which is especially designed for African businesses.

During an interview with BSC News, Xend CEO Ugochukwu Aronu said, “On a macro scale, providing these infrastructures such as SwitchWallet allows funds to be domiciled in Africa. These funds can be applied to great use to develop the African ecosystem. For example, the float can be used to give out loans, and earn interest, and these will improve the overall economy of Africa as opposed to having the funds domiciled in other countries.”

He added, “The Liquidity Providers that process peer-to-peer transactions of XendBridge are mostly based in Africa. They handle exchanges between fiat and crypto giving them a large revenue base. This automatically improves our economy as we create extra revenue sources for Africans.”

Further, according to Aronu, Xend Finance has heavily invested in security measures to safeguard against security breaches. 

“Xend Finance has invested over $500,000 on security audits on all our infrastructure,” he said. “We have also developed a cold wallet based key system that signs all transactions offline protecting user funds from hackers.”

The new products: XendBridge and SwitchWallet are a welcome innovation  for African startups who struggle to get funding and revenues at their initial stages by cutting down on costs and development time.

About Xend Finance

Backed by Binance, Google Launchpad, NGC Ventures, Hashkey and AU21 Capital, Xend Finance is the first African startup to build on the BNB Chain. They are headquartered in Enugu, Nigeria. The startup provides a DeFi alternative for people in unstable economies to earn on their savings while protecting their assets. This is done by allowing users to save in stable currencies and earn high interests of up to 15% per year. It is considered to be a secure savings platform that makes saving profitable and rewarding.

Xend Finance launched a crypto bank app in December 2021 that saves in dollar based stablecoins. So far, the app has garnered more than 100,000 sign-ups rendering it a success.

Categories
Business

Its Official: Flutterwave and Chipper cash Not Licenced to Operate in Kenya

Yesterday during the July Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) press briefing in Kenya, the Central Bank of Kenya, through its Governor Dr Patrick Njoroge, made an official statement stating that Flutterwave and Chipper cash are not licensed and therefore should not operate in Kenya. 

“Flutterwave is not licensed to operate as a remittance provider or payments service provider in Kenya,” Dr Njoroge said. “They are not licensed to operate and therefore, they should not be operating and I think Chipper Cash, we should also say the same.”

In 2021, Flutterwave received worldwide recognition for becoming an African fintech unicorn.  According to a report by Aljazeera, Flutterwave has processed transactions valued at more than $16 billion in dozens of African countries. 

However, as they say, when it rains, it pours. This news has come at the heel of the recent money laundering scandal involving Flutterwave. Kenya’s Asset Recovery Agency which investigates and recovers proceeds of crime accused the Nigerian company of fraud and money laundering. The company denied claims of any involvement in the money laundering scandal that had USD60 million frozen by the High Court of Kenya Judge Esther Maina.

“Claims of financial improprieties involving the company in Kenya are entirely false, and we have the records to verify this. We are a financial technology company that maintains the highest regulatory standards in our operations. Our anti-money laundering practices and operations are regularly audited by one of the Big four firms. We remain proactive in our engagements with regulatory bodies to continue to stay compliant,” Flutterwave said in a statement at the time.

However,yesterday’s  statement from  Dr Njoroge has all but sealed Flutterwave’s fate in Kenya. 

Flutterwave also had a scandalous expose written by David Hundeyin on April 12th on a multitude of its corporate governance and human resource issues labelling it the “African Unicorn Built on Quicksand”. At least In relation to Kenya, the company is almost submerged

Categories
Business

Bitcoin Trading in Montenegro

If you are a businessperson looking to start a business in a tax friendly environment, then you are probably familiar with Montenegro, which is a popular tax haven many corporations look to. Lately the South Eastern European country is also on the radar of crypto and blockchain enthusiasts looking to set up shop. Currently there are several exchanges based in the country with LocalBitcoins leading in popularity having traded over 1000 BTC in the past month.

Montenegro has been a pioneer in creating a legal regime in favor of crypto and blockchain development. Even before El Salvador and the Central African Republic, the Montenegrin Parliament passed a law recognising bitcoin as legal tender in 2018. The country has since launched a national blockchain strategy.

In comparison, Uganda’s laws have been outrightly hostile to crypto currencies. More recently, the Bank of Uganda issued a circular to all payments licensees in Uganda to desist from facilitating cryptocurrency transactions. Such prohibitive laws and policies deter investors that are affiliated to blockchain, and this could potentially cut Uganda out from reaping from the growing trend at its inception.

Other than the regulatory framework on crypto, Montenegro has a favourable tax regime which for years has pulled corporations to the country. In order to open up the economy and encourage investment, personal income tax has been set at 9% by the Government. Further, Income above the average has an 11% income tax levied on it. 

According to PC Tech magazine, the latest trends in bitcoin trading in Montenegro include margin trading, which is borrowing money from a broker to trade bitcoins and the use of derivatives which are financial instruments that derive their value from underlying assets such as stocks, commodities and currencies. A national digital currency is also in the works.

The increasing use of bitcoin by businesses as a payment method is also encouraging bitcoin trading in Montenegro. There are also a multitude of bitcoin ATMs that have cropped up in the country. This has spiked the interest in crypto currency within the country. Another factor attributing to the success of crypto in Montenegro that is impossible to ignore is the political and economic stability of the country.

The growing interest in the crypto trend within Montenegro is hard to ignore. With more and more companies establishing themselves in the country, it is only a matter of time before Montenegro is one of the major centers for Bitcoin trading.

Categories
Business

Blockchain Partnerships in the Music Industry

The blockchain industry is leaving no stone unturned. Right from revolutionizing the finance sector to making art more exhilarating, blockchain is the gift that keeps on giving, and the music industry is not one to be late to a party.

Various artists around the world are embracing crypto investment. Some of the big names to be associated with this development are Snoop Dog, Ne-yo and Akon from the United States who are in partnership with companies developing entertainment using NFT (non-fungible technology) assets. Henry Coco-Bassey (a.k.a Hector) is also giving Nigerian artists a platform through NFT trading while South African artists Anatii and Cassper Nyovest are representing from the South.

This year, Snoop, Ne-Yo and David Guetta have partnered with one of the companies bringing the music industry to the Metaverse called Stage 11. Stage 11 is a development company based in Paris, France that innovates music through NFT technology. The company reimagines music for the metaverse (a virtual reality space built on the blockchain) with an aim to “create a new way to experience music by combining gaming, mixed reality and digital collectibles”. Stage 11 aims to explore all the features of the metaverse. One other significant accomplishment made by Stage 11 is having partnered with Paris Fashion Week.

Hector, a music producer from Nigeria, is one of the more notable African artists using the blockchain technology. He was inspired to pursue NFT innovation due to his exasperation with how the business side of music works: which often results in artists making music from which they make little to no income from. While on a brief hiatus from music, he got the idea to launch Unique Sirius, a pioneer record label that publishes music as NFT. Through Unique Sirius, Hector is helping artists from Africa and the world over to gain fair income from their music. He has also founded Soundmeta which is a web3 music service. Hector has reportedly had a successful sell-out of 10 copies of music NFTs in two weeks.

Representing South Africa are Anatii and Cassper Nyovest. Anatii is an investor and promoter of web3 development. His Twitter followers may be familiar with the ‘.eth’ on his Twitter handle associated with Ethereum (ETH) investors and traders. On the other hand, Cassper Nyovest has partnered with Sportsbet.io and Bitcasino.io, the world’s leading crypto sports betting site and casino respectively.

Both Anatii and Cassper Nyovest have been teasing fans on social media with a collaboration with some NFT involvement. Cassper Nyovest recently posted: “this broker can’t stop speaking about NFTs. Will we even get into the studio?”. For now, that is all the tea the artists have spilled, however, due to prior involvement of both artists in the crypto space, it may just be a matter of time…

The integration between the music industry and blockchain is all but assured due to the benefits artists are bound to have as a result. All the artists that have partnered with blockchain have met with measurable success, so it may just be a matter of time before the artist based near you joins the party.

Categories
Business

Unstoppable Domains secures $65M to turn NFTs into Web3 digital identity

Unstoppable Domains, a leading platform for Web3 digital identity with more than 2.5 million registered NFT domains,  announced yesterday that it closed $65 million in Series A funding at a valuation of $1 billion. 

Pantera Capital, a new investor, led the investment round which also included participation from previous investors Boost VC and Draper Associates as well as Mayfield, Gaingels, Alchemy Ventures, Redbeard Ventures, Spartan Group, OKG Investments, Polygon, CoinDCX, CoinGecko, We3 syndicate, Rainfall Capital, Broadhaven, EI Ventures, Hardyaka, and Alt Tab Capital.

Paul Veradittakit, a Partner at Pantera Capital said, “Unstoppable Domains is rapidly defining a new category of decentralized identity that will change the internet as we know it. We’re proud to back Matt [Gould, Founder and CEO of Unstoppable Domains] and the rest of the team who are making this vision a reality.”

“For too long, companies have controlled people’s digital identities, and Unstoppable Domains is putting that power back into the hands of people.  As the digital economy becomes a larger part of our lives, it’s time for people to own their identities on the internet. We’re thrilled to partner with Pantera and other investors who share our vision of onboarding billions of people onto Web3 through NFT domains that unlock user-owned, private, and portable identities.”  Matthew Gould added.

Founded in 2018, Unstoppable Domains offers NFT or blockchain domains that give people full ownership and control of their digital identity. Blockchain domains are domains just like the popularly known .net, .com or .org,  but stored and managed on blockchain making them decentralized and secure. What this means is that no company or government can manipulate content on these domains. Also, as compared to the traditional domains, the blockchain domains are exclusively owned by the user rather than just rented.

The company has registered 2.5 million domains which people can use to log onto more than 150 Web3 applications. The domains are “human readable names” replacing lengthy alpha-numeric crypto wallet addresses (making them much more user friendly) on which users can add multiple crypto currency addresses. Once a user gets a domain name, he/she becomes the sole owner of the domain name and so no one can take or modify it unless they choose to sell it using the auction option on the platform. Users can also create decentralized websites, decentralized chats and build their Web3 identity on the Unstoppable Domains platform. 

With top web3 firms like Polygon, Blockchain.com and MoonPay, Unstoppable Domains has established more than 300 partnerships. Since its 2018 start, Unstoppable Domains has made over $80 million in sales.

According to the announcement issued yesterday, Unstoppable Domains will use the funding to fuel product innovation and further grow its partnerships in the web3 space as it continues to build a platform for user-owned and portable digital identity.

Categories
Business

First Ethereum Event To be hosted in Kenya

Kenya will host ETHSafari, a crypto event that will attract many enthusiasts and experts from all over Africa. The conference is scheduled to take place in Kilifi County from September 18 to 24.

According to a statement from the organizers, the conference will round up more than 1000 attendees from across continental Africa.

Ethereum Foundation Africa Fellow and an instigator of ETHSafari, Benson Njuguna said, “We’ve already had more than 270 signups for the event with nothing more than some dates and a logo announced to date. It shows that there’s huge interest in the space and we’re excited to fill a gap in hosting the very first Ethereum ecosystem event in the region and setting the stage for many future ETHSafari events around the continent.”

The focus of the event is to explore the cryptocurrency ecosystem, hacking, and to celebrate the company’s development over the years.

Similar to other firms that have invested heavily in digital money, the event will provide a case for a decentralized future, use cases that have been implemented in the continent, and the individuals who are responsible for the digital money technology. Additionally, DAO (decentralized autonomous organization), DeFi (decentralized finance), gaming, and NFTs will be some of the main subjects covered in the discussions at the event.

The event will also be marked by discussions on how crypto firms will bridge the gap between the global ecosystem and the African ecosystem.

According to the program presented on the website, the first two days, 18th to 19th will feature a bootcamp, from 20th to 22nd, ETHSafari will host a hackathon, and a conference will then be held from 22nd to 24th to conclude the 6-day event.

Interested parties can attend the event virtually or physically. Furthermore, the event will feature a blend of local, regional and international speakers. 

Teams will also be linked up to local and international mentors who will help them tackle critical challenges and at the end winning participants will be rewarded with cash prizes. Members will also get to interact and network.

Categories
Business

Bitcoin Payments Now Accepted In Major Retail Outlets In Gibraltar

Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory in Europe, will now accept Bitcoin payments at some of the major retail outlets. 

CoinCorner, a Bitcoin exchange on the Isle of Man, Sandpiper (Gibraltar) Holdings Limited, Costa Coffee, Hotel Chocolat, Card Factory, and The Gibraltar Bakery are some of the retail stores that have rolled out Bitcoin and lightning payments.

Customers can tap and pay with bitcoin lightning at any of the stores with The Bolt Card, a new contactless card powered by NFC and the Bitcoin Lightning Network.

Ben Collins, Business Development Manager at CoinCorner, shared his testimony saying, 

“Since the launch of The Bolt Card, we’ve seen a big increase in the number of businesses reaching out keen to accept Bitcoin. For a long time, the idea of paying with Bitcoin seemed alien to both businesses and individuals, but with the launch of The Bolt Card and the ability to ‘tap and pay’ via lightning, the user experience is quick, easy, and familiar to everyone.”

Neil Walker, Managing Director at Sandpiper GI, added that the rollout of Bitcoin and Lightning payments allows the group to offer its customers an additional quick, convenient, low-cost payment option in their stores.

“Many of our customers are visitors to Gibraltar and are using Euro-based payment methods to buy items in GBP, incurring additional costs. The Lightning Network is a low-cost solution with transactions processing as quick as a contactless card at real-time exchange rates,” he said.

According to sources, this move will benefit the nearly 8 million visitors from nations like the United States, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Canada that come to the little territory.

Categories
Business

CV Labs Africa in partnership with the University of Johannesburg host a bootcamp and hackathon

CV Labs in partnership with the University of Johannesburg (UJ), Binance Africa, Polygon, and Geekulcha hosted a blockchain innovation bootcamp and hackathon. The three-day scheduled event took place at the University of Johannesburg.

It included live-streamed keynote addresses, panel discussions, and masterclasses from renowned industry experts from Binance, CV VC, Launch Africa, Polygon, QuidPro, and 3air all organized for blockchain and technology enthusiasts.

Nineteen qualifying teams were tasked with identifying and tackling real-world African problems using blockchain technology. Participants focused on creating new and viable solutions to increase the accessibility and inclusivity of healthcare, digital finance, fundraising, education, food sharing, and many other industries on the continent.

With blockchain technology as an enabler to improve socioeconomics, the UJ Innovation Hackathon encouraged participants to efficiently harness the potential of blockchain to elevate industries, income, and well-being. 

Under the guidance of mentors and masterclasses given by speakers and panelists, which included ConsenSys, FTX, QuidPro, 3air, The Delta, Standard Bank, Launch Africa Ventures, CV VC, and many other pioneers, participants were exposed to the exciting world of blockchain technology. 

“Hackchain” emerged as the winning team. The team consisted of first-year business information technology students who devised an innovation for the healthcare industry focusing on disease screening.

“Hackchain” received the grand prize of incubation consulting services to prepare the team to apply for CV Labs Africa’s three-month incubation program. Other prizes included graphic design resources, a grant application consulting to Polygon Village, and trading capital from Binance.

The hackathon is one of several initiatives that CV Labs Africa has started to cultivate and advance South Africa’s blockchain talent.

Gideon Greaves, Managing Director of CV VC Africa and CV Labs Africa, said, “CV Labs is committed to encouraging creativity and ambition to drive South Africa’s blockchain technological capabilities and thereby bring about a positive impact on the nation. The hackathon results are inspirational. Projects exceeded expectations regarding how the participants achieved consensus and stellar working concepts. The presented ideas and solutions illustrate what can be achieved by the continent.”

Ronny Mabokela, Head of the Technopreneurship Centre at the University of Johannesburg also emphasized, 

“The Technopreneurship Centre is an ideation and innovation hub where industries’ most pressing unresolved challenges can be addressed, researched, and solved by our students. With support from exceptional academics in collaboration with industry partners such as CV Labs Africa, Geekulcha, and those who sponsored the blockchain innovation hackathon, over the three days, we have observed the enablement of our student’s entrepreneurial mindset and what amazing solutions they have innovated while embracing new-age technologies such as blockchain.”

Commenting more about the hackathon’s aim, Douglas Webster from Binance said, “Hackathons are an exchange of creativity, growth, and ingenuity between different skill sets. This was evident in abundance throughout the three days at UJ. We have witnessed many global hackathons, but this one was special to us as it proved that there is an abundance of deep commitment and determination to succeed unlike anywhere else right now.”

Categories
Business

Polygon announced as the title sponsor of this year’s Crypto Fest 2022

Polygon has been named the title sponsor of the hybrid edition of Crypto Fest 2022. Polygon is a decentralized Ethereum scaling platform that enables developers to build scalable, user-friendly DApps with low transaction fees and without sacrificing security. Over 20,000 DApps have used the Polygon platform to scale their applications.

Shodipo Ayomide, in charge of developer relations at Polygon said: “We are excited to be joining the 2022 edition of Crypto Fest as the title sponsor, and we are looking forward to supporting more conferences like this in South Africa and across Africa as a whole.”

The Crypto Fest has grown in popularity throughout the years. This year it is a component of Cape Town’s Week of Innovation thanks to a partnership with the SA Innovation Summit, the continent’s largest startup event, which runs from September 27 to September 29, 2022 and it will be hosted on 30th September.

This event will include more than 2,000 participants both virtually or in person at Cape Town, South Africa. Leading international speakers will share their perspectives on major topics such as nonfungible tokens (NFTs), the Metaverse Web3, and decentralized finance (DeFi).

The theme of the Crypto Fest 2022 is Don’t Look Up, a play on the satirical comedy film “Don’t Look Up.” The crypto-DeFi-NFT-Web3 space is changing, therefore it’s important to “look up” and take note of both the changes and the opportunities.

The Crypto Fest will ignite hard-hitting conversations, spark critical debates and host a one-of-a-kind experience on how the crypto-DeFi-NFT-Web3 technologies and communities are altering the worlds of finance, investing, art, music, sport, gaming, entertainment, marketing, governance and more.

The event will be jam-packed with intriguing keynote presentations, lively booth activity in the marketplace, NFT art and Metaverse gaming experiences, competitions and giveaways and performances by top local DJs and artists at the afterparty. The event’s master of ceremonies will be well-known South African radio host Kienno Kammies. One of the most beautiful cities in the world, Cape Town, will serve as the setting for all of this action.

Visit this page to buy yourself a ticket for the 2022 Crypto Fest.

Categories
Technology

The University of Tokyo to offer courses on the Metaverse

Later this year, the University of Tokyo popularly known as Todai plans to launch a number of educational programs on the Metaverse.

Students from high school and working adults will be able to enroll in the courses. They will be offered opportunities to reskill/upskill via related online courses focused on artificial intelligence (AI), next-gen communication tech, and entrepreneurial education.

The delivery of the Metaverse study programs won’t be handled by a separate dedicated faculty that grants degrees; rather, Todai’s department of engineering and graduate programs in engineering-related fields will be in charge. Certificates will be given to students who finish the courses.

Todai’s program was introduced to address the shortage of qualified workers in the field of new technologies and digital transformation.

A further point made by university officials was that learning engineering and information science in the Metaverse will enable anyone, regardless of their age, gender, socioeconomic status, or place of residence, to do so.

Students in junior high and high school will be given an overview of the topic and instructed on possible career paths in engineering, science, and other related fields. They will learn the material through a combination of online and in-person lessons.

Furthermore, there will also be a push to attract more women to study the programs as the lack of female representation in engineering has been identified as an issue.

Todai has already ventured into the metaverse with Teruo Fujii, the university president, who has an engineering background, giving a lecture in January and an online orientation for incoming students held in spring.