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Weekly Roundup: Nigeria Finally Launches eNaira, Stellar to Facilitate USDC Remittances in Africa & More

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Nigeria has finally launched eNaira after postponing the initial rollout set for October 1. Read this and other top crypto stories in this weekly news roundup.

Nigeria Finally Launches eNaira

Nigeria has finally launched the eNaira, making it the first African country to roll out a central bank digital currency (CBDC).

According to the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Godwin Emefiele, the eNaira, and the Naira have the same value. “The eNaira and the physical naira will have the same value and will always exchange at one naira to one eNaira,” he said.

The CBN hopes that the digital currency will improve its monetary policy, boost financial inclusion, and improve the efficiency of transactions.

“The adoption of the central bank digital currency and its underlying technology, called blockchain, can increase Nigeria’s gross domestic product by $29 billion over the next ten years,” said President Muhammadu Buhari during the launch.

The eNaira platform has integrated 33 banks and onboarded over 2,000 users. The website is receiving more than 2.5 million visitors each day.

Tech Startup in SA Develops Gaming App Based on the Bitcoin Blockchain

Skrmiish, a tech startup in Cape Town, has developed a gaming app based on the Bitcoin blockchain to monetise users’ wins. The app will also have a layer-two bitcoin wallet.

The company wrote in a press statement: “Skrmiish is the world’s first app that allows any user to compete and monetise their experience on the blockchain. Currently, in week ten of global beta testing, Skrmiish has had over 20,000 downloads, with over a million in in-app currency wagered. Once the crypto-based digital wallet is introduced to the app in November 2021, it will unleash the full global commercial potential of the tech.“

According to Ventureburn, “the payment solution allows multi-directional instant payments at 10,000 transactions per second.”

Standard Bank Notifies Crypto Arbitrage Traders in SA of Impending Account Termination

South African bank, Standard Bank, is reportedly notifying crypto arbitrage traders of impending account termination. The bank says that it aims to make its clients comply with regulations, hence the decision.

The actions have, however, raised questions on how the bank is deciding which accounts will be terminated. For instance, one of the affected businesses says that the bank is terminating its account simply because of its arbitrage business model.

“Standard Bank is committed to treating its clients fairly and constantly strives to strike the appropriate balance between maintaining client relationships and ensuring regulatory compliance,” a spokesperson of the bank said.

Stellar to Facilitate Remittances in Africa Using USDC

USDC LogoThe Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) is working with Flutterwave to facilitate remittances between Europe and Africa using USD Coin (USDC).

Flutterwave will use USDC on the Stellar network to make this happen. The African fintech company will also work with the Paris-based money transfer provider, Tempo Payments.

Flutterwave’s CEO Olugbenga Agboola believes that the partnership will bring cost-effective remittance services to Africa. The company is operating in more than 33 African countries such as Rwanda, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda.

African NFT Marketplace to Launch NFT Collection

Muda, an African NFT marketplace, is launching an NFT art collection on Ethereum on November 24, 2021. The collection will comprise more than “15,000 hand-drawn and programmatically-generated” art.  Muda has named the NFT collection Afro Kingz. The art draws inspiration from pre-colonial kingdoms and African tribes.

“Through the gamification of this NFT collection, users will attempt to trade their way to acquiring a full Kingdom. A kingdom is a set that has NFTs from the different layers of the hierarchy, which will consist of at least one Royal, two chiefs, 20 council members and 50 soldiers. Thereafter, successful collectors will [enter] into a battle royal style competition in which they will have a chance of attaining the ultimate prize in the Afro Kingz Universe,” said Suleiman Murunga, the director of Muda.

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Weekly Roundup: Africa’s Cassava Network Partners with UniPass to Expand Crypto Adoption in Africa & More

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Cassava Network Partners with UniPass

In this week’s news roundup, you will read about Cassava Network, an African Web3 platform that has partnered with UniPass to advance crypto adoption in Africa, and more.

African Web3 Platform, Cassava Network, Partners with Self-custody Crypto Wallet to Expand Crypto Adoption in Africa

Cassava NetworkCassava Network, an African Web3 platform with a focus on gaming, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and rewards, has announced the launch of the third version of its platform that features integration with UniPass, a non-custodial smart contract, enabling users to use their email addresses instead of seed phrases and gas. 

The partnership will enable Cassava Network to onboard Africans from Web2 to Web3 as users will be able to create Cassava accounts and automatically sign up to UniPass where they will be able to send, receive, and store on-chain digital assets across various Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) blockchains. 

Speaking about the launch of the new platform version, Mouloukou Sanoh, Co-founder of Cassava Network, said, “Cassava v3 serves as a bridge for global Web3 businesses to connect with African Web2 users.”

Sanoh went ahead to mention that 90 percent of the partners engaging with the community feature of the new version are African businesses. 

Benjamin Obenze, Cassava Network’s Business Developer, in an interview said that African users and businesses will be able to use the new platform version to enter Web3 spaces. 

Nigeria Leads the African Continent with Crypto Leverage Searches on Google

According to an analysis of Google searches done by Leverage Trading, Nigeria scored the second-highest globally (94) for searches related to crypto leverage in the last five years. 

Singapore is the only country that outscored Nigeria with a score of 100 regarding searches but with more emphasis on transactional searches like ‘how to leverage trade crypto’. South Africa and Ghana follow Nigeria closely as both countries have also dominated Google searches for the term ‘trade crypto.’ 

Despite Nigeria leading in the crypto leverage searches and South Africa and Ghana following closely, Leverage Trading established that Africa still lags behind when it comes to searches for the term ‘stock leverage.’ 

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Weekly Roundup: Kenyan Senate in Discussion with CBK to Legalise Bitcoin & More

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In this week’s news roundup, you will read about the Senate initiating talks with the Central Bank of Kenya to develop policies on digital assets, Zambia’s move to test the tech it desires to use for crypto regulation, and more. 

Kenya’s Senate to Hold Discussions with CBK to Legalise Digital Assets

The Committee on Information, Communication & Technology, under the Senate of the Republic of Kenya, has made its intention known that it will engage the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) and other stakeholders to develop policies on the use of crypto assets and virtual service providers in the country.

The news was shared on the official Twitter page of the Senate of Kenya. The committee is keen on facilitating the development of a crypto regulatory framework that can enable Kenyans to carry out safe and secure crypto transactions. Moreover, the committee also noted that having regulations on cryptocurrency use in the country will help Kenya to harness the benefits of financial innovation while curtailing the risks associated with digital assets. The committee also stated that it is committed to accelerating the implementation of the country’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). 

Despite these new developments, the CBK hasn’t outrightly changed its stance on virtual currencies like Bitcoin not being a legal tender. However, the CBK, in 2022, published a discussion paper calling on Kenyans to share their opinions on CBDC as it looked to explore the potential implementation of a CBDC. 

Zambia Testing Technology for Crypto Regulation

The Bank of Zambia and the country’s securities regulator are currently testing technology to allow for the regulation of cryptocurrencies. The news was shared by Zambia’s Technology and Science Minister, Felix Mutati, on the ministry’s website in a move that is aimed at achieving an inclusive digital country.

Speaking about the news, Mutati stated that cryptocurrency is the future that the country desires to achieve,” but a policy framework is required to support this “revolutionary technology.” He went ahead to state that the testing of the technology that will potentially be used to regulate cryptocurrencies in the country will be upscaled in due time as part of deliberate efforts to achieve an inclusive digital economy in the country.

In addition, the minister also claimed that Zambia aspires to become a technology hub in Africa by developing digital infrastructure and attracting investments in the sector. 

South African Startup Momint Keen to Boost Electricity Generation Utilising Blockchain-Based Solution

Momint, a South African startup, recently announced that it had launched a blockchain-powered solution that can alleviate the country’s energy distress by installing more rooftop solar systems in public institutions such as schools and hospitals. 

The company has so far piloted the solution at one local school – Delmas High School – in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa, according to a news report published by News 24. According to the report, investors who are keen to participate in the project can do so by acquiring non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that are linked to solar cells and retail for just under $9. 

The solar cells will then be leased to institutions that agree to buy the generated electricity through a standard power purchase agreement. 

Speaking of his company’s solution, Ahren Posthumus, Momint’s CEO, said, “We are a technology company that’s trying to build for the next 15 years, but what we realized is we can’t build a technology company in a country that doesn’t have electricity.”

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Weekly Roundup: South Africa Introduces New Cryptocurrency Standards to Advertising Code & More

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In this week’s news roundup, you will read about South Africa’s new clause on its advertising code targeted towards the cryptocurrency sector and more.  

South Africa Introduces New Cryptocurrency Standards to Advertising Code

The South African Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB) has introduced a new clause targeted at the crypto industry and aimed at protecting consumers from unethical advertising. 

According to the new clause introduced to Section III of the country’s advertising code, both companies and individuals in South Africa will be required to abide by certain advertising standards in relation to the provision of crypto products and services. The first clause makes it mandatory for adverts, including crypto offerings, to clearly express that crypto investments may result in the loss of capital given the volatile nature of cryptocurrencies. In addition, crypto adverts should not contradict warnings about potential investment losses that investors may face. 

The clause also went ahead to emphasize that adverts for particular services and products must be explained in an easily understandable manner for the target audience. Advertisements must also have balanced messages around benefits, features, returns, and risks associated with the particular service or product. 

Rates of returns, projections, or any kind of forecasts must also be sufficiently substantiated, including how they are calculated and what conditions apply to touted returns. Moreover, any information relating to a crypto product or service’s past performance will not be used to promise future performance or returns, and should, therefore, not be presented in a way that creates ‘a favourable impression of the advertised product or service.’

The clause went on to state that adverts from crypto service providers who aren’t registered credit providers should not push for the acquisition of digital currencies using credit. However, this does not prevent the advertising of associated payment methods provided by crypto service providers. In the same breadth, brand ambassadors and social media influencers will also be expected to comply with certain advertising standards, such as sharing factual information and not offering advice on investing or trading in crypto assets as well as the prohibition of promises of benefits or returns. 

Central African Republic Keen on a Legal Framework for Cryptocurrency Adoption

Central African RepublicCentral African Republic (CAR) has set up a 15-member committee that will be responsible for developing a bill on the use of cryptocurrencies and tokenization in the region.

Once developed, the legal framework will enable cryptocurrencies to operate in the Central African Republic and expedite the development of the country’s economy. CAR’s President, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, believes that digital currencies will help eliminate the country’s financial barriers and build a business-friendly environment that’s supported by a legal framework for crypto usage in the country. 

He went on to say, “With access to cryptocurrencies, the monetary barriers existing until now will disappear, the main objective of the measures adopted by the government being the development of the national economy.”

The committee tasked with drafting the crypto bill comprises 15 experts from five different ministries of CAR, including the Ministry of Mines and Geology, the Ministry of Waters, Forest, Hunting and Fishing, the Ministry of Agriculture ad Rural Development, the Ministry of Town Planning, Land Reform, Towns and Housing and Ministry of Justice, Promotion of Human Rights and Good Governance.

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