Crypto offers Africans a lifeline against inflation and corruption, leaders say

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While many Western investors are turning to crypto to speculate on the next big trend, blockchain technology is actually solving real problems in Africa, such as hyperinflation and corruption, executives have told Cointelegraph.

Speaking to Cointelegraph, Chris Maurice, Founder and CEO of Yellow Card Africas, the largest cryptocurrency exchange, said that crypto in Africa is growing at the speed of light as it enables many Africans to escape the failures of traditional financial systems and transact more freely.

Crypto solves real-world problems with banks and currencies on the continent, and it’s not the casino you can sometimes look like in the West.

Mauritius said the most common use cases in Africa are international payments, sending money to friends and family, and saving against inflation.

Crypto in Africa lives closer than any other part of the world to the original mission of the technology, he added.

Africa has more crypto users than North America or Europe.

6 of the top 20 countries in the world for crypto are in Africa.

Africa is the crypto continent. https://t.co/NzodcOkMYn

— Chris Maurice (@chrismaurice) April 24, 2023

Kevin Imani, the founder and CEO of Sankore 2.0, a subsidiary of Layer 1 Near Protocol, believes that blockchain-based payments can act as a human rights technology:

It is important to recognize the human rights protections it offers to people in underdeveloped countries. In many developing countries, hyperinflationary pressure and corruption have left citizens with few options.

Cryptocurrencies provide a lifeline for these people, providing greater financial inclusion and control over their money, he added.

According to Statistica, inflation rates in sub-Saharan Africa reached around 14.5% in 2022, marking the region’s largest annual change since the 2008 recession.

Imani said the ability to counter weak national currencies and corruption and increase financial inclusion makes peer-to-peer crypto transactions a no-brainer for many Africans.

From Lagos to Nairobi, from Accra to Cape Town, Africa is becoming a hub of technological innovation.

Watch this place! #BlockchaininAfrica pic.twitter.com/LYGZCQ0u9Z

— NEAR Kenya | NEAR is now (@NearKenya) June 19, 2023

Personally, I see Crypto as Africa’s next shot, another opportunity to be part of something big, as opposed to the internet revolution of the 2000s when most Africans weren’t as exposed as today, added Okoye Kevin Chibuoyim, Founder and CEO of Nigeria-based crypto education platform GIDA.

Africans are used to bad governments that are not accountable and transparent, but here blockchain here shows its transparent nature and makes everyone trust the system, he said.

Related: Africa: The Next Hub for Bitcoin, Crypto Adoption and Venture Capital?

In April, Block, an American digital payments company led by Jack Dorsey, partnered with Yellow Card to facilitate cross-border payments in Africa based on the Blocks infrastructure.

After the number of cryptocurrency users increased by 2,500% in 2021, the region saw an 11-fold increase in venture capital funding in 2022.

Mauritius said Nigerians have embraced cryptocurrency like no one else in the region with a local publication reporting in May that 47% of Nigerians own or transact with crypto daily.

While Mauritius said Botswana had the most legal and regulatory clarity, cryptocurrency would now be illegal in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Gabon, Guyana, Lesotho, Libya and Zimbabwe, according to Investopedia.

Magazine: Bitcoin in Senegal: Why does this African country use BTC?

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