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Business

Binance’s BNB under SEC’s investigation for alleged ICO violations

The initial coin offering that served as the cornerstone of the launch of the Binance cryptocurrency exchange in 2017 is getting a fresh look from federal regulators, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The Securities and Exchange Commission, according to anonymous sources quoted in a Bloomberg report today by Tom Schoenberg, is looking into the origins of the exchange’s Binance Coin (BNB) for possible securities law breaches. Binance has surpassed all other cryptocurrency exchanges in terms of trading volume since its establishment in 2017.

The announcement of the government regulatory investigation comes after Reuters reports on the findings of a separate investigation, claiming that at least $2.35 billion in illicit funds were laundered through Binance between 2017 and 2021.

Another tangent involving CZ is also being investigated by the regulatory authorities. The same was highlighted in a Bloomberg report, which stated,

Another source familiar with the investigation claimed the SEC is also looking into market-making firms linked to Zhao, the Binance CEO commonly known as CZ. According to the individual, the SEC is interested in Zhao’s ownership shares in market makers on Binance.US and if the exchange has engaged in broker-dealer activities.

Investigators are also examining if the 2017 initial coin offering amounted to the sale of a security that should have been registered with the agency.

Binance, however, declined to comment on the latest development but assured that it would continue to meet regulatory standards.

“It would not be appropriate for us to comment on our ongoing conversations with regulators, which include education, assistance, and voluntary responses to information requests.”

“We will continue to meet all requirements set by regulators,” the company added.

BNB, the fifth largest crypto, began trading in red right after the news broke. It is now down by 6% to $283 as of this writing.

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Social Good

Crypsense and Africa Blockchain Center Partner To Skill African Institutions in Digital Asset Management.

Digital assets management firm, Crypsense Digital Group has partnered with the Africa Blockchain Center to provide information on blockchain technology and digital asset management to African Institutions. 

Crypsense prides itself as the first and fastest-growing African based start-up offering a learning platform for digital assets capacity building and management.

The platform provides digital assets trading information from beginners’ level all the way to the advanced level focusing on the basic principles of virtual assets trading, technical, fundamental research and analysis, use of AI and algorithm systems and safe secure custodial services.

Africa Blockchain Center aims to build a blockchain ecosystem in Africa with highly skilled blockchain engineers who will use all aspects of the technology to build robust applications that will create demand for blockchain in Africa and change the world as a whole. 

The partnership aims to create a collaborative space connecting African institutions with top global industry players in asset management, custodial and financial services through its global network of partnerships in regulatory compliant jurisdictions. 

Through the training, African based institutions looking to leverage blockchain technology and crypto assets will learn how to use the tech to improve efficiency, transparency, scalability and financial inclusion along with the wide range of products and services available with Web3. 

The target is to empower at least 500 institutions across different African countries in different sectors within governments, regulators, banking and micro-financial services, FinTechs, family businesses and SMEs within the next 3 years.

Crypsense also intends to support at least 100 digital businesses to transition into the blockchain ecosystem through its launch pad that provides access to global mentorship, technical infrastructure and resources, funding and go-to-market roadmaps.  

The different training sessions will be centred around the company’s main pillars of digital asset training, financing, capacity building and management for individuals and institutions as well as the launchpad for blockchain and crypto assets in Africa. 

Crypsense hopes to build capacity, systems and a community of experts that will enable African digital businesses to tokenize their businesses and scale to a global audience.

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Business

SMKG To Team Up with KanaCash for African Remittances Venture.

Fintech solutions company, SmartCard Marketing Systems Inc (SMKG: OTCQB) has today announced a joint venture partnership with African remittances firm, KanaCash.

The partnership intends to give KanaCash access to SmartCard Systems’  proprietary Intellectual Property portfolio to give merchants and customers in Africa a unique payment solution of a marketplace linked with a digital wallet.

By integrating with existing local infrastructure, KanaCash provides Africans in the diaspora with an innovative web and mobile application tailored to the mobile payment needs of Sub-Saharan Africa. 

SmartCard Marketing Systems Inc comes in as an industry leader providing a wide range of business intelligence and Digital Transformation Strategies to the global PayTech and FinTech markets.  

The SMKG proprietary portfolio includes applications and wireframes for banking, enterprises and retail e-Wallets offering Blockchain Protocols, crypto issuing, NFT minting, tokenization, digital ID-eKYC, and Digital Automation Strategies with “License to Own” marketplace application.

With SMKG’s specialized industry tools and data, the partnership aims to enable KanaCash to reach its goal and aims to capitalise and implement the tech suite in the untapped market. 

KanaCash currently provides international remittances between the US and Liberia, Ghana and Kenya and the partnership will allow them to expand to 11 African markets that are yet to be disclosed. 

SMKG has purchased a 15% stake (valued at $4 million) in KanaCash as part of the initiative in exchange for licensing. 

For the more than two million Sub-Saharan African immigrants living in the US who transfer money to families regularly, this could be a good sign. 

While remittances to Sub-Saharan Africa rose by 14.1% to $49 billion in 2021, the main challenges of high costs and reliance on mobile money still stand for the largely unbanked population. 

This presents a unique opportunity for KanaCash to leverage the aspects of Web3 to avail a cost-friendly and easily accessible method to send and receive money. 

KanaCash CEO & Co-Founder McSwain Forkoh stated, “We are excited about the Joint Venture with SmartCard. With this JV, KanaCash is positioned to drive seamless customer experience and interoperability in remittance and payments across Africa.”

The partnership is part of SMKG’s accelerator program to extend its reach as an all in one company providing multi-industry services in the world of e-commerce from its collection of over 20 platforms that include 8 marketplaces. 

According to the SMKG CEO, Massimo Barone, the collaboration is “a major milestone to create adaptive offerings in digital payments for the growth of local markets in Africa – also expanding Axepay’s global payment rails network.” 

Axepay is a cross-border payment platform with SKMG and including this will put KanaCash closer to its objective of offering a full-scale digital payment platform with mobile money, Point of Sales Terminals (POS), online payments, Automatic Teller Machines (ATM) connectivity etc.

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Business

Uganda seeks CBDC lessons from Nigeria

The Bank of Uganda (BoU) recently announced that it is exploring the viability of issuing a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) to be used by households and businesses. This was days before the Central Bank issued a circular to all payment service providers warning them against facilitating cryptocurrency transactions. 

Officials from the Bank of Uganda (BoU) have awakened the conversation yet again and are now looking at Nigeria’s experience in building the first CBDC in Africa to pick lessons.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) mentioned in a tweet that its Governor, Godwin Emefiele, had advised visiting Bank of Uganda officials to discuss establishing a Central Bank Digital Currency.

According to Nigerian news outlets, the Governor stated that they are working to further entrench financial inclusion through the e-Naira and that Uganda may benefit from similar efforts.

The Governor also emphasized that having a CBDC will enhance the relationship between mobile banking and online businesses, while they are still treading cautiously.

The E-Naira has been performing well and Nigerians seem to have accepted it fast. The Central Bank of Nigeria has been encouraging people to utilize the e-Naira by conducting a public awareness campaign in Nigerian marketplaces and cities. The e-Naira, which was launched in October 2021, was ranked first in a report by PwC CBDC Global Index in 2022, amid various initiatives by central banks to construct Central Bank Digital Currencies.

According to the Bank of Uganda’s Executive Director of Operations, Charles Abuka, the bank is looking at the CBDC’s requirements and ‘what challenges it will help fix.’

However, because of limited internet and technology availability in rural areas, there are concerns that digital money will have an impact on financial inclusion.

East African counterparts like Kenya, Tanzania, and Burundi have all expressed interest in having a CBDC.

Sourced from BitKE

Categories
Technology

Hackers Steal 32 NFTs in a New Compromise of Bored Ape Discord Server

Hackers obtained access to the Discord servers of two Yuga Lab projects, Bored Ape Yacht Club and OtherSide Metaverse, in the early hours of Saturday and stole at least 32 non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

The breach was originally discovered by on-chain analyst OkHotShot, who speculated that the hackers may have gained access to servers since the project’s Community Manager, Boris Vagner, had his account hacked by unknown individuals. The hackers took about 145 ETH ($256,000), according to OkHotShot.

Leading blockchain security firm, PeckShield, also later confirmed that the Bored Ape and OtherSide discord hack did happen.
According to the blockchain firm, the hacker stole 32 NFTs. The stolen NFTs included 1 BAYC, 2 MAYC, 5 Otherdeeds, and 1 BAKC.

After its server was compromised, Gordon Goner, co-founder of the popular Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection slammed Discord saying it isn’t working for the Web 3 communities.


BAYC acknowledged the exploit on Twitter, adding, “The team caught and addressed it quickly.”

According to available evidence, the scammers used a phishing attempt to lure unwary Discord channel users with the promise of an exclusive gift.

The hackers were able to enter these users’ accounts when they clicked on the fraudulent link, which they had no idea was harmful.

Meanwhile, this isn’t the first time that attackers have gained access to Bored Ape’s social media accounts. Its Instagram account and Discord channel were hacked earlier this year, resulting in a $13 million loss.

The fact that Bored Ape’s collection is regarded as one of the most valuable assets in the NFT market may explain the frequency of these attacks. Over $2 billion in secondary sales have been documented for the NFT collection.

It’s worth noting that this kind of attack isn’t unheard of in the crypto world. Malicious actors have used various phishing techniques to target several crypto projects.

Categories
Social Good

How Kampay is Addressing Food Insecurity in Africa With Blockchain.

Millions of people in Africa and worldwide (about one in three people) suffer from food insecurity. As blockchain technology changes our world, this is inevitably one of the greatest challenges that new developments can be driven towards addressing. Here is how KamPay intends to address food insecurity. 

KamPay is a company dedicated to creating an economic revolution by harnessing the different features of blockchain. The company intends to enable smallholder farmers to be at the centre of the financial ecosystem surrounding their produce. 

Smallholder farmers in Africa are typically disconnected from the rest of the food production value chain and thus often either do not know or have no control over the final price of their produce. 

KamPay hopes to directly empower smallholder farmers and the company CEO Chris Cleverly is quoted saying, 

 “I am incredibly excited to see millions of Africans benefit from the current technological revolution. It is important to embrace and not be afraid of technological innovation. From the steam train to mobile phones, tech has always enabled global advancement.”

With 400 million people having mobile phones without internet in Africa, KamPay is working on a system to enable anyone with a mobile phone to access its blockchain services directly via SMS commands.

The technology is currently in its Beta testing phase and is expected to launch within the next year to enable farmers to know where, for what price, and how much of their products are ultimately sold. 

KamPay has partnered with Agri-Fintech company, Tingo Mobile which has a customer base of 10 million currently, to tap into this base with subsequent expansions to follow.  

Cleverly believes this tech will be game-changing for Africans, especially smallholder farmers who will be able to rely on sophisticated and proven technology to sell their goods, communicate with buyers and assess live market conditions

The company also has an existing partnership with African Grain & Seed (AGS) to provide micro-lending to 50,000 rural farmers in Zimbabwe. KamPay sets up wallets and ensures that funds are properly allocated. 

As 57% of the population across Africa does not have access to a traditional bank account, KamPay is looking to provide a low cost, secure and convenient wallet service that smallholder farmers can rely on.

Blockchain’s immutability features on KamPay will also help curb food fraud which, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), costs the global economy about $40 billion annually. 

Food fraud refers to any deliberate action (or inaction) to deceive customers about the quality and contents of the foods they are purchasing. 

With blockchain, it will be easier to trace where issues arise in the food supply chain so that they can be addressed for the benefit of both the consumers and farmers.

Categories
Technology

Bank of Uganda Open To Having Cryptos in Regulatory Sandbox.

The Bank of Uganda has expressed a willingness to include crypto businesses in its regulatory sandbox through a communication with the Blockchain Association of Uganda.

Andrew Kawere, Director of the Bank of Uganda’s National Payments Service, wrote an email to the Chairman of the Blockchain Association of Uganda, Kwame Rugunda saying, 

“The Bank of Uganda (BoU) welcomes your proposal to share knowledge with our technical teams on the crypto business models and whether some use cases are suitable for testing under the regulatory sandbox.”

– Bank of Uganda (BoU)

Regulatory sandboxes are common in Africa for live testing new products or services in a controlled environment. As the financial sector in Africa continues to change, more sandboxes are expected to crop up to test the various emerging products and services. 

The Bank of Uganda (BoU) launched its regulatory sandbox framework in June 2021 to promote financial services innovation, attract capital and funding for fintech firms and provide shared learning opportunities for innovators and regulators.

With the aim of promoting the uptake of electronic payments and digital financial services, the sandbox laid out the rules and regulations for testing financial innovations with BOU providing the necessary oversight and safeguards.

Uganda’s Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA) has been urging the country’s Ministry of Finance to help formulate a regulatory framework for crypto service providers since December 2020. 

While cryptocurrencies were not explicitly mentioned at the launch of the sandbox, the Government of Uganda has since appeared to be distancing itself from cryptocurrencies. 

May 2022 saw the BOU issue a circular to all payment service providers, particularly mobile money operators reminding them to stop facilitating cryptocurrency transactions.

The circular also served as a warning to Ugandans about the risks associated with crypto trading with an additional reminder that the BOU does not recognize any cryptocurrency as legal tender.  

The intention to include cryptos in the sandbox however appears to be a more receptive move showing a willingness to open up dialogue and opportunities.  

In Africa, several Central Banks have publicly announced regulatory sandboxes, including South Africa, Kenya, Ghana and Zimbabwe.

Sourced from BitKE

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Business

Nigerian Producer launches an NFT-focused company

Eric Utere, known professionally as LeriQ, a Grammy award-winning Nigerian artist, has launched African Valuables Collective (AVC), a platform that aims at assisting content creators to create and sell non-fungible tokens (NFTs). LeriQ mentioned his prospects for the NFT industry in April and has finally established his dream. The company has already engaged with some of the top content creators in Africa and strategic partners such as Bundle Africa, Luno, and Cent.

Based in Lagos and Accra, the AVC platform is designed to facilitate the easy creation, management, and sale of digital art and assets from African creators through partnerships with global NFT exchanges. AVC which is live with artists in Nigeria, Ghana, and South Africa plans to expand across the continent. The platform is built for creators to grow their brands and reach global markets through NFT technology.

LeriQ emphasized that he had seen firsthand how technology had transformed the creative sector in Africa and believed that Web 3 Technology would see the sector catapult to even greater heights. 

“We are trying to bridge the information and technology gap in the African creative space,” LeriQ said

He added, “African Valuables is a technology company that moonlights as Chief Technology Officer to creatives. We see there is a lot of interest in NFTs and a lack of understanding of executing them. We provide that guidance while building out strategic partnerships and the necessary platforms to ensure success. There is a massive opportunity in Africa but due to lack of legacy structures, we can leapfrog into the metaverse”

Crypto exchange partners Bundle and Luno also provided details on their products and how those in the NFT sector can utilize such opportunities.

“AVC will give artists and creators of all types a level of autonomy over the monetization of their creations and also propel African talent by creating a marketplace built precisely with them in mind,” says Emmanuel Babalola, CEO of Bundle Africa.

“We want to get the power of crypto into the hands of everybody and whilst at Luno we focus on providing our customers with access to more established technologies like bitcoin and Ethereum, we still believe NFTs could be a great avenue to build awareness of crypto’s utility at a grassroots level. Whilst they are still a very new technology, NFTs hold massive potential as a simple and innovative way for artists to sell their work to a global audience and we’re proud to be working alongside AVC as they unlock even more value for Africa’s creative sector.” Chinedu Obidiegwu, Business Development Lead at Luno Nigeria.

Strategic partner Cent also added that;

“As we shift to Web3, opportunities for anyone to make a creative income are being unlocked throughout Africa and across the globe. It’s exciting to help lead the way and be a part of this innovative campaign.”

“Our team is proud to be collaborating with LeriQ and his team on the African Valuables Collective,” said Katie Geminder, Co-founder and Chief of Strategy for Cent. 

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Business

Central African Republic Might Tokenize Country’s Natural Resources

The Central African Republic’s Government has agreed to natural resource tokenization as the next step in its digitization efforts. The landlocked African country was the first on the continent to accept Bitcoin as legal cash in April. The Central African Republic (CAR) announced the next step in its Bitcoin adoption journey on Thursday, with the goal of tokenizing access to the country’s natural resources.

Obed Namsio, Minister of State and Cabinet Chief of Staff also added saying;

“We are giving everyone access to the riches of our land. In other words, we are transforming them into equally valuable and important digital assets through an unprecedented new administrative and economic movement.”

According to the news release, the CAR Government will grant tokenized access to mineral resources to crypto and digital asset enterprises that establish a presence in the country.

The Government introduced Project Sango in May after passing a law recognizing bitcoin as legal tender the previous month. The natural resource tokenization will now be handled on Project Sango.

In addition to petroleum, CAR has a variety of mineral resources, including diamonds, copper, and rhodium. Some of the country’s natural resources include gold, limestone, cobalt, and manganese.

Despite its vast natural resources, the landlocked African country is nonetheless among the world’s least developed. President Faustin Archange Touadera hopes to establish new investment opportunities in the country by tokenizing these “huge natural assets.”

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Opinions

Appzone Co-founder Advocates for Regulated Digital Currencies.

Appzone Co-founder and Managing Director, Obi Emetarom believes that encouraging the adoption of digital currency across the country is the most practical and perhaps the easiest way to achieve a fully financially included society. 

Speaking at a fireside chat session at a Techpoint event in Lagos recently, the Appzone Co-founder noted how industry players and regulators have been encouraged to create a favourable environment to achieve a fully financially included economy.

Emetarom attributed Nigeria’s lack of full financial inclusion to the fact physical cash based on fiat currency is still very much in circulation as the main means of transaction. 

“Because digital currencies do not have nor need paper cash equivalents, an immediate transition into fully digital payments based on digital currencies will achieve immediate 100% inclusion,” Emetarom said. 

He, however, pointed out that regulation, interoperability, and ease of use are three key issues that must be addressed on the journey to full inclusion. 

Despite all of the efforts of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), by the end of 2021, 36% of Nigerian adults (about 38 million people) still remained completely financially excluded. CBN has continued to explore diverse opportunities to achieve inclusion.

The eNaira that was launched in late 2021 is key to Nigeria’s inclusion strategy but the fact that its wallet requires a holder to have a bank account still leaves out the 38 million who are unbanked. 

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) report however shows that the eNaira wallet coverage is expected to eventually expand to anyone with a mobile phone even if they do not have a bank account. 

Along with other solutions provided by Appzone, Emetarom believes that allowing any mobile phone to access the eNaira would increase financial inclusion and facilitate more direct and effective implementation of social transfer programs.

“At Appzone, our vision is for digital payments and DeFi to replace cash and traditional banking operations in Africa which will unlock universal financial inclusion and accelerate economic prosperity for our continent,” Emetarom remarked. 

In December 2021, Appzone established itself as a leader in the development of technological infrastructure with the launch of Africa’s first blockchain decentralized payment network known as Zone. 

With the principles of financial inclusion crucial to the Appzone mission, Zone provides a payment infrastructure platform that facilitates local and Intra-African payments in fiat and digital currencies. 

Emetaron spoke passionately about Zone’s role saying, “financial institutions will be able to connect directly to one another on the blockchain without having to go through any central intermediary.”

He added that the technology has already been adopted by the major banks in Nigeria and is optimistic that this will promote a seamless cashless society and ease intra-African payments.