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Weekly Roundup: Quidax Joins the Bored Ape Yacht Club, African Blockchain Lab Raises $6 Million Funding to Launch Wallet & More

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In this week’s news roundup, you’ll read about Quidax joining the Bored Ape Yacht Club after purchasing a Bored Ape NFT worth 75.2 ETH, Nigeria-based African Blockchain Lab closing a pre-series A funding round worth $6 million to launch a crypto wallet, and other top crypto stories.

Quidax Buys NFT Worth 75.2 ETH to Join the Bored Ape Yacht Club

Quidax has become the first African crypto trading platform to join the Bored Ape Yacht Club after purchasing an NFT worth 75.2 ETH.

 

The Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), which has grown to become one of the most prominent brands in the NFT space, is a collection of 10,000 ape avatars on the Ethereum blockchain and individually act as tickets to an online social club. So far, BAYC NFTs have generated over $1 billion in total sales.

The Bored Ape Yacht NFT purchased by the crypto trading platform was worth $273,252.5, an equivalent of 75.2 ETH at an exchange rate of $3,769 per 1 ETH. Additionally, owning a Bored Ape NFT will provide Quidax with access to various activities with one of them being ‘The Bathroom’, which is a collaborative graffiti board.

African Blockchain Lab Raises $6 Million Funding to Launch Crypto Wallet

Nigeria-based African Blockchain Lab has successfully raised a pre-series A funding round worth $6 million to help fund the launch of VIBRA, a crypto wallet.

As reported in Disrupt Africa, the funding round was co-led by a combination of global investors, including well-known African venture capital firms CRE Venture Capital, Lateral Frontiers VC, and Musha Ventures. Additionally, the blockchain startup also received funding from international blockchain investors Bonfire, Cadenza Capital, Dragonfly Capital, Despace, Fenbushi, Hash Global, Hashkey Capital, Head & Shoulder X, LeadBlock, Kryptial, SNZ Capital, among others.

African Blockchain Lab was founded with a singular mission – to drive the mass adoption of digital assets and blockchain technologies in Africa. With the backing from our strategic investors, we intend to bring world-class tech stacks, projects and innovation to the African continent, starting with our first product VIBRA,” said Vincent Li, the Co-founder for African Blockchain Lab.

The funding will enable African Blockchain Lab to launch VIBRA, its crypto wallet, and add new features such as VIBRA Earn, a crypto saving product that will allow users to earn interest on various crypto assets.

Speaking on the funding, Pardon Makumbe, the Managing Partner at CRE Venture Capital, said, “We believe Africa has a generational opportunity to build a more collaborative and inclusive financial ecosystem using decentralized technologies, in which all players are winners. We are excited to partner with the world-class team at Vibra to make this happen.

Airbnb Might Offer Users Crypto Payment as an Option After Crypto Payment Tops User Requests

Airbnb Inc., a home rental firm, might soon join the growing list of businesses accepting digital currencies as payment options for services.

This comes after Brian Chesky, Airbnb’s CEO and Co-Founder, asked users on Twitter to give suggestions of anything they’d like the firm to launch in 2022. After sifting through 4,000 responses, Chesky posted the top six suggestions. The number one suggestion requested by most users was the ability to book and pay for an Airbnb accommodation using cryptocurrencies. Other recommendations included clear pricing displays, guest loyalty programme, updated cleaning fees, more long-term stays and discounts, and better customer service. Chesky went ahead to reveal that some of the suggestions were already in the pipeline and that what wasn’t already in the pipeline would be considered.

 

While Chesky did not explicitly reveal whether his company would add crypto payments, his comment could mean that either they are already looking to incorporate virtual currencies into their services or they will be considering it.

NFT Marketplace, OpenSea, Raises $300 Million in Series C Funding at a Valuation of $13.3 Billion

OpenSea, the largest NFT marketplace globally, on Tuesday announced a successful Series C funding round worth $300 million.

The funding round was led by investment firms Paradigm – a crypto-focused investment firm – and Coatue Management. Following the investment and four years, after it was launched, OpenSea’s current valuation stands at $13.3 billion.

The marketplace was founded in 2017 as a place for people to buy and sell non-fungible tokens (NFTs). OpenSea plans to use the funds to accelerate product development, significantly improve customer support and customer safety, meaningfully invest in the wider NFT and Web3 community, as well as grow their team.

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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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