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Weekly Roundup: South African Reserve Bank Plans to Introduce New Crypto Trading Regulations & More

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5 Ways to Buy Bitcoin Quickly and Easily as a South African

In this week’s news roundup, you’ll read about South Africa’s plans to introduce new cryptocurrency trading rules in the next 12 to 18 months, a new report by the UN showing that more than 13 million Nigerians are in possession of digital assets, and more.

South African Reserve Bank Plans to Introduce New Regulations Around Crypto Trading

South Africa, through its Reserve Bank, has announced that it will soon introduce a new regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies in the country.

Speaking at a PSG Think Big webinar, the Deputy Governor of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB), Kuben Naidoo said, “Our view has changed and we now regard it [cryptocurrency] as a financial asset and we hope to regulate it as a financial asset. There has been a lot of money that has flowed in, and there is a need to regulate it and bring it into the mainstream.”

Naidoo went ahead to state that it will take them 12 to 18 months to finalize the new regulations but that know-your-customer (KYC) rules and licensing of exchanges can already start being implemented. He also touched on the possibility of the Southern African country’s central bank issuing its own central bank digital currency (CBDC) and mentioned that they have so far carried out two pilots for it.

Although conversations regarding the classification of crypto as financial assets and not a currency have been ongoing for quite a while, the new move by SARB has been welcomed by crypto exchanges in the country as they expect the move will boost cryptocurrency adoption in the country.

Speaking following SARB’s announcement, Marius Reitz, Luno’s General Manager for Africa said, “It will require crypto asset service providers (CASPs) to obtain FSP licenses and will be easier for the public to identify a trusted and licensed platform. It will create a barrier to entry for those platforms with no regard for the security of customer funds and customer information.”

New United Nations Report Shows Over 13 Million Nigerian Own Cryptocurrencies

A new report by the United Nations has established that over 13 million Nigerians own cryptocurrencies. The new rating done by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) placed Nigeria third among countries with the highest number of digital currency holders in the African continent.

The report further showed that South Africa and Kenya were trailing Nigeria. However, in terms of which country has the highest proportion of crypto-owning inhabitants compared to other African countries, Kenya emerged first, ahead of Nigeria and South Africa. Currently, Kenya’s cryptocurrency ownership was at 8.5 percent in 2021, placing it first in the African continent and fifth globally. South Africa trailed Kenya with 7.1 percent of its population owning or having held virtual currencies in 2021.

Still, Nigeria has one of the biggest cryptocurrency markets despite the restrictions placed on crypto trading by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

10,000 African Startups to Benefit From Blockchain Partnership

About 10,000 startups across the African continent are set to benefit from a $1 million (roughly Ksh. 117.9 million) partnership between Adanian Labs, Humanity Node Protocol (HNP), and Web3Africa. Adanian Labs and HNP are both based in Nairobi.

The partnership, which came to be under the African Startup League initiative, will enable young Africans and entrepreneurs to develop innovative businesses and technologies around blockchain technology. The initiative will make it possible for African-owned enterprises to compete for a grand prize of $1 million for building technologies on the blockchain.

Speaking about the partnership and initiative, Marcus Duke, the founder of Humanity Node Protocol, said, “Blockchain and Africa are inevitable. There is no bigger opportunity on the planet today to do good for humanity while making incredible returns.”

HNP and Web3Africa project will provide 300,000 HNP non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to 300,000 Africans who will have registered and had their identities verified on or before August 8, 2022. In addition, HNP and Adanian Labs will develop the business model and operating protocols for the Humanity NFTSs and estimate that the NFTs will generate more than $1,000 income a month for those who will be chosen to receive the Humanity NFTs.

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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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