Prince Clem Akanade Agba, Nigeria’s minister of state for budget and national planning, has called for the establishment of a new regulatory body to oversee the regulation of crypto activities in the country. The minister stated this at the recently held Crypto Coinference, which was organized by the tech media organization Technext. According to him,…
African central banks are looking to learn from Nigeria’s turbulent but historic launch of the continent’s first state-backed digital currency, eNaira. Tanzania announced last week that it intends to launch its own digital currency in order to reduce transaction costs and increase citizen participation in the formal financial system. In September, the South African central…
Although the domain name bitcoin.org was registered on August 18th, 2008, it wasn’t until October 31st of that year that a link to Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System (its white paper) was posted online. It was written by the enigmatic Satoshi Nakatomo, the legendary Bitcoin creator whose identity is still unknown to this day….
Visa, the world’s largest payment processor, launched a global crypto advisory service for clients such as banks and merchants on Wednesday, as the adoption of digital currencies accelerates. Visa’s move comes amid unprecedented investor demand for cryptocurrency services, and the company’s latest offering is aimed at financial institutions looking to attract or retain customers with…
Adidas Originals has joined a number of other lifestyle brands in entering the metaverse. The company has partnered with two non-fungible tokens (NFTs) players — Bored Ape Yacht Club and Pixel Vaults Punks Comic — as well as crypto investor Gmoney for its metaverse entry. After replacing the official Twitter handle’s profile picture with a…
Payourse, a Lagos-based blockchain startup that develops products and tools to accelerate cryptocurrency adoption in Africa, announced on Wednesday that it has raised $600,000 in pre-seed funding to scale its products, hire more talent, and expand into new markets. Micheal Ugwu, one of Africa’s largest NFT collectors, Flori Ventures, Olumide Soyombo’s Voltron Capital, and Allegory…
FJDynamics, created by DJI’s former head scientist Wu Di, has secured a $70 million Series B round to further its objective of empowering workers in the hardest environments with robotic technologies. When I asked Wu what makes his company’s farming robots unique, he responded in a way that would make any PR sweat: “I don’t…
Following reports that the Indian government may ban cryptocurrency, the crypto market price charts were drenched in red on Wednesday, November 24. Bitcoin’s value has dropped by 25.51 percent to $46,601 on the Indian exchange CoinSwitch Kuber. On a global scale, the world’s oldest cryptocurrency has managed to keep its value above $50,000, despite the…
Busha, a Nigerian cryptocurrency exchange, has raised $4.2 million in seed funding to expand across Africa. Busha, which was founded in 2019, allows users to buy, sell, and manage their cryptocurrency portfolios through an easy-to-use mobile app. The startup has been expanding across Nigeria, and it has now raised a US$4.2 million seed round to…
A piece of virtual real estate in the online world Decentraland was sold for a record $2.4 million (roughly Rs. 17 crore) in cryptocurrency, according to the buyer and seller, crypto investor Tokens.com and Decentraland. Decentraland is a virtual world – also known as a “metaverse” – where users can buy land, visit buildings, walk…
The Blockchain Industry Coordinating Committee of Nigeria (BICCoN) has questioned the Central Bank of Nigeria’s recent actions in imposing a new ban on user accounts linked to crypto-related activity. In a news release, the blockchain collaborative body criticized the Central Bank of Nigeria’s recent “overreach.” Remember that the CBN ordered banks to stop processing cryptocurrency-related…
El Salvador plans to build the world’s first “Bitcoin City,” initially funded by Bitcoin-backed bonds, President Nayib Bukele announced on Saturday, doubling down on his bet that the cryptocurrency will fuel investment in the Central American country. Speaking at the end of a week-long Bitcoin promotion in El Salvador, Bukele stated that the city planned…
Mobile FinTech Tingo has announced its collaboration with the decentralized cloud computing network Cudos to tackle the poverty premium through mobile monetization applications which will lead to the empowerment of over 9 million Nigerians, enabling them to earn an income from their smartphones. The significance of this collaboration extends to the whole industry as Cudos…
Four African blockchain startups have been selected to participate in the CV Labs global incubation program run by venture capital firm CV VC, securing $ 125,000 in funding and additional support. CV VC, based in Switzerland, funds the seed and incubation program, CV Labs, for its global technology team in exchange for a stake. The…
The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, earlier in February, outlawed crypto trading and prohibited banks and other financial institutions from facilitating related payments. This prohibition comes several months after the Apex bank initially warned Nigerians about the dangers of dealing in cryptocurrencies, stating that they were not legal tender and that investors were unprotected. In the…
El Salvador made Bitcoin legal tender not too long ago but the country’s Bitcoin Trust has already gained millions in profit, and the country’s President Nayib Bukele has now stated that the profits will be directed towards building 20 schools. The update was confirmed via the press secretary of the presidential office via Twitter. Bukele,…
Discord is already the de facto home for NFT communities, but the company could be planning to deepen those connections in a big way. On Monday, Discord founder and CEO Jason Citron tweeted a screenshot depicting Discord integrated with popular crypto wallet service MetaMask and WalletConnect, an open protocol that many mobile crypto wallets are…
Formed in 2018 and launched in Nigeria in 2019, cryptocurrency exchange Yellow Card is now active in 12 African countries and planning further expansion after banking US$15 million in Series A capital in September. Yellow Card makes it easy for anyone, anywhere in Africa, to buy cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDT Stablecoin using cash, mobile…
Nigerian blockchain-based Wi-Fi sharing startup Wicrypt has closed a strategic US$1.5 million funding round to help it expand into new countries. Wicrypt is a decentralised mobile internet sharing and monetisation network that allows anyone to get paid for sharing their Wi-Fi. Users download the Wicrypt app and provide Wi-Fi through their mobile device or by purchasing…
Approximately 6 million people in the US workforce have quit their jobs after making more money from cryptocurrency investments than from their low-income jobs, according to a new survey by intelligence firm Civic Science. Civic Science surveyed over 17,000 respondents across the country for a period of seven months, starting from April 20, 2021 to…
New Google Ads scam is stealing crypto wallets, a new research from Check Point Research (CPR) warns. The new scam has enabled wrongdoers to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth cryptocurrency in the past weekend. According to the report, scammers are placing ads at the top of Google Search that imitate popular wallet brands, such…
Earlier this week, the SQUID cryptocurrency, inspired by popular Netflix series Squid Game, raised scam suspicions after its value dipped by 99.99 percent and its website went defunct. Now, the trading value of this Squid token has soared by 600 percent in the last 24 hours, data by CoinMarketCap revealed on Thursday. Currently, the token…
More tech entrepreneurs and innovators every day are throwing their weight behind cryptocurrency. Steve Wozniak, a computer scientist and programmer, who co-founded Apple with Steve Jobs, has endorsed cryptocurrency, saying crypto has “an awful lot of promise” through blockchain technology. He also said that Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation, is “just mathematically…
The Africa Blockchain Centre (The ABC), a Kenyan startup focused on building technology capacity and offering blockchain solutions to key sectors announced today that it has raised an undisclosed investment from Next Chymia Consulting HK Limited, an Asian based company that provides blockchain solutions, consultancy services and training to global entities. Founded in September 2021, The Africa…
At a time when cross-border trading is high on the agenda with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, the Chief Technical Officer of Digital Encode Limited, Dr. Oluseyi Akindeinde, believes that the adoption of blockchain for payments will fast-track the achievement of the trade agreement’s objectives. Highlighting the advantages of the blockchain for…
Bitcoin grabbed all the headlines in the crypto world last week marking a new all-time high but ended the week with the slump. But the surge in investor excitement doesn’t seem to have faded just yet. The world’s most popular cryptocurrency opened Monday’s trade at Rs. 47,36,579 (roughly $63,236) rising by 1.41 percent over the…
Based in Cape Town, South Africa, Skrmiish, a gaming technology startup, has launched an app embedded with BTC blockchain to enable gamers to play and win cash. The Skrmiish app allows the creation of competitive gaming experiences for fun, rewards or cash. Its current innovation, the patented Layer-2 Bitcoin cryptocurrency digital wallet, was developed in…
Mastercard has sealed a multifaceted partnership with Bakkt to enable buying, selling and holding cryptocurrency, likewise delivering unique, crypto-centric loyalty opportunities, and streamline issuance of branded crypto debit and credit cards to its customers. This partnership makes it easier for merchants, banks and fintechs in the U.S. to embrace and offer various cryptocurrency solutions and…
Tesla, the major electric vehicle manufacturer headed by Dogecoin (DOGE) proselytizer Elon Musk, has hinted that it may soon look to restore support for crypto payments. In a September quarterly filing with the United States Securities and Exchanges Commission, the firm stated it “may in the future restart the practice of transacting in cryptocurrencies,” which suggests Tesla…
PayPal and Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel has stated that he regrets not investing enough in Bitcoin. During an event in Miami, Thiel praised cryptocurrencies and admitted that he may have underinvested in Bitcoin. “You’re supposed to just buy Bitcoin,” he said, adding: “I feel like I’ve been underinvested in it.” Thiel, who’s also a billionaire…