Emerging Onchain This Week #1
Hello crypto friend 👋
Welcome to the first edition of the Emerging Onchain This Week. Feast on crypto developments from across Africa over the last 2 weeks. 🍽️
Crypto news from around Africa
Ecosystem
- Yellowcard and Jack Dorsey’s Block partner to facilitate cross-border payments
Block’s TBD division which focuses on building crypto & web3 projects has partnered with one of Africa’s largest exchanges Yellowcard. TBD is helping with the movement of money between the US and the 16 different African countries Yellowcard is in. TBD has built a legally compliant international transfer bridge for this.
Jack has also personally invested in a few African crypto projects including Yellowcard and most recently Gridless.
-Coinbase CEO gifts $100 to learn about crypto usage in Africa
Currently, Coinbase users in Africa are restricted from buying through the exchange, but allowed to send their assets for custody.
In an effort to remedy this challenge, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong offered to gift $100 to anyone who shared clear examples of how people use crypto in Africa. This comes after reports of Coinbase removing Africans from their platform.
A large portion of the responses showed crypto is used in Africa for remittance, cross-border payment, and as a store of value.
-Polkadot hosts PolkadotSafari in Kenya
The first-ever Polkadot conference in Africa happened between March 30 and April 1, at Naivasha, Kenya.
The Polkadot Bootcathon also provided a hands-on workshop for participants and helped onboard more developers to its ecosystem.
-Emerging Onchain drops a database of African venture-backed crypto projects
With over 130 entries the database breaks down different investment rounds, how much was raised and which funds invested in the different rounds. Get it here for free.
-NODO opens grant applications for African Web3 projects
The Emurgo-backed platform NODO has launched a grant to support African Web3 builders. The NODO grant will offer up to $25,000 to eligible projects in the MVP, seed, or idea stage. It joins the likes of Mercy Corps Ventures which offered $100,000 grants for web3 builders (including in Africa).
-Africa-focused platform Paxful shuts down operation
Following its launch in 2015, Paxful grew to become the most popular Bitcoin trading platform across Africa especially in Nigeria and Ghana. In fact, Nigeria was Paxful’s largest market accounting for over 20% of its users.
Product Launch
-Nestcoin launches Compass by Onboard
Africa’s premier Web3 startup Nestcoin has rebranded its Breach product to Compass by Onboard.
Nestcoin CEO Yele Bademosi explained that Compass will provide an easy-to-understand guide to crypto investing, wealth management, and personal finance. This follows the recent launch of Onboard Wallet last month.
-TheFlip launches Crypto@Scale for Africa
Leading African tech publication platform theFlip has launched a new podcast Crypto@Scale to provide “pragmatic and hype-free exploration of the crypto ecosystem across Africa.
So far, the podcast has published interesting episodes discussing the role of Stablecoins and Centralized exchanges in the African market.
ICYMI: Global crypto news
-BRICS nations considering crypto as an option against USD
In the wake of increased US trade sanctions, BRICS nations (including Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) are reportedly in discussions to develop a multinational cryptocurrency to break away from US dollar dominance.
Many finance experts predict that the BRICS countries could launch a single cryptocurrency that will be pegged to gold, away from the U.S. dollar. If the BRICS nations opt for stablecoins backed by assets like gold, we could see increased demand for such natural resources from Africa.
Equally, we may see a growth in stablecoins pegged to a basket of currencies. Interestingly, this was something being explored on the continent with $ABCD an NGN stablecoin planning to expand to be pegged to a basket of African currencies and separately the creation of NGNT as an NGN stablecoin.
-a16z report shows increased crypto adoption despite a bear market
Leading venture firm a16z published its 2023 State of Crypto Index, which revealed that users’ appetite for crypto has remained on the increase despite the prolonged crypto winter.
Specifically, active crypto addresses hit an all-time high of 15 million users back in March 2023, while over $100 billion was traded across decentralized exchanges.
Tweet of the week
Our Knowledge list
Here are a few resources we are reading, watching, and listening to catch up with emerging trends affecting the crypto space.
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