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Weekly Roundup: Nigerian Stock Exchange Plans to Adopt Blockchain for Settlements by 2023 & More

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In this week’s news roundup, you’ll read about Nigerian stock exchange’s plans to utilise blockchain technology for settlements, a new forensics lab launching in Kenya to help fast-track crypto-related cybercrimes, and more.

Nigerian Stock Exchange Plans to Adopt Blockchain for Settlements by 2023

Nigerian Exchange Limited, the biggest stock exchange in Nigeria, is planning to roll out a blockchain-enabled trading platform by 2023 that will increase trade by facilitating trade settlements and attracting young crypto-savvy Nigerians to stocks.

The news follows the introduction of regulations by the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission to guide trade in digital assets in the country, as well as the growing interest by businesses and policymakers to adopt blockchain across the continent including in Kenya and South Africa. Moreover, the move also follows the firm’s first electronic share offering that was issued by MTN Group in the country and ended up being oversubscribed 1.2 times with the majority of the investors being below 40 years.

The company will be partnering with a tech company and is set on receiving approvals from Nigerian watchdogs next year in order to proceed. South Africa, on the other hand, is having ongoing conversations with key players in the fintech industry to incorporate the technology into its financial markets.

P2P Bitcoin Trades Rose to $185 Million on Paxful in Nigeria Despite Crypto Ban

PaxfulNigeria traded roughly $185 million worth of Bitcoin on Paxful, a leading peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto platform, in Q1 of 2022 despite the crypto ban imposed on banks by the Nigerian central bank.

According to the P2P crypto exchange, the trade volumes indicate a 5.71% increase in comparison to $175.3 million Bitcoin’s that were traded in the same period last year. Furthermore, the daily trades carried out by Nigerians on the platform averaged up to 16,000 in 2021 making the country the leading source of trades on Paxful.

25.87% (roughly $185 million) of the total $715 million BTC trades carried out on the P2P platform in the first quarter of 2022 were made by Nigerians. The increased P2P trades witnessed in the West African nation is despite the government actions banning digital asset trading with financial institutions.

Since the ban was effected, the CBN has so far fined five top Nigerian banks, including Access Bank, Fidelity Bank, and GT Bank a total of $3.4 million as a result of contraventions and infractions of its guidelines.

Kenya Launches New Forensics Lab to Help Investigate Increased Crypto Fraud

The Kenyan National Police Service has launched a Forensics Lab that is expected to help fast-track cyber-crime investigations, including crypto-related crimes, among others.

The East African nation has become a hotspot for cybercrime, especially ones relating to virtual currencies. Just recently, a top newspaper in the country reported a cryptocurrency scam that saw Kenyans lose $8.5 million in a Ponzi scheme known as Bitstream Circle.

The scheme lured investors by saying that they would get mentors who would alert them about the best times to trade as well as earn daily profits from their investment.

Kenyans Lose $8.5 Million to the Bitstream Crypto Ponzi Scheme

Bitstream Circle, the latest cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme that was designed by Kenyan and Chinese fraudsters, has left investors in Kenya counting their losses after the fraudsters made away with $8.5 million.

Bitcoin ScamAccording to Nation.Africa, the company first appeared on the internet on December 7, 2021, promising investors daily profits of between five to 10 percent on the amount invested. It gained over 10,000 followers on its Telegram page which required followers interested in joining the ‘Bt Elite Team’ to pay a deposit of $20. The firm promised to assign a mentor to each investor who would guide them on how to convert their shillings into crypto coins that they could then trade, earn a profit from, and withdraw.

Everything went well until March 13, 2022, when users started noticing delays when making withdrawals which the company said was due to system upgrades. The upgrade lasted for five hours but on March 14, 2022, where the administrators began posting messages that confirmed the company was a Ponzi scheme.

You are a bunch of brainless races, see you on our next plan,” an administrator of the page posted to the 10,914 investors.“Bye, haha. I am living a luxurious life with your dollars. If you have invited friends, wait to be killed by your recommenders. Idiots. There will be a time to meet.”

The company has since disappeared from the internet and its Telegram page, mobile application, and website are no longer accessible.

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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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