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Indian Bank Blocks Use of RBI’s Remittance System for Crypto While Government Delays Bill
13.7.2021
Major Indian bank ICICI has asked customers not to use the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s liberalised remittance scheme (LRS) for any crypto-related investments. ICICI, a leading private sector bank in India, has updated its retail outward remittance application to include cryptocurrency. With...
Africa Fintech Start-up Growth: Nigeria Dominates in ‘Big Three’ Markets
10.7.2021
According to the findings of the latest study by Disrupt Africa, the number of fintech start-ups based on the African continent grew to 576 in 2021. This figure represents a 17.3% jump from the 491 start-ups that were operating on the continent in 2019. Overall, the number of fintech start-ups...
Russian Foreign Minister States Crypto Might Play a Significant Role in Settlements
15.6.2021
The Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov talked about the future importance of cryptocurrencies as an international settlements layer at the Primakov Readings Forum. Lavrov referred to these assets as having a “significant role” in the future. Russia has been striving to de-dollarize...
Bitcoin Remittances to El Salvador Surge 300% Ahead of BTC Becoming Legal Tender
15.6.2021
Bitcoin remittances to El Salvador jumped more than fourfold in May from the previous year, according to data from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis. Last week, El Salvador passed a bill making bitcoin legal tender in the country alongside the U.S. dollar. The monthly bitcoin transfers of under...
Experts: Regulatory Uncertainty and Slow Embrace Hampering Crypto Growth in Kenya
14.6.2021
Regulatory uncertainty and the slow embrace of cryptocurrencies continue to be key impediments to the growth of Kenya’s digital currency market, experts say. They also assert that without speedy regulation, which they believe will hasten the adoption of digital currencies, Kenya’s...
Remittance firms hesitant to support BTC despite legal tender law in El Salvador
14.6.2021
Remittance firms operating in El Salvador appear reluctant to support Bitcoin despite the country's new law mandating the crypto asset as legal tender
Nigeria Bureau De Change Association Boss Accuses Speculators of Destabilizing the Naira— Says Central Bank Funding Will End Currency Woes
22.5.2021
According to the head of the Nigerian group of bureau de change operators, the naira’s continued fall on the parallel market is down to the activities of speculators. However, Aminu Gwadabe, the president of the Association of Bureau de Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), suggests that only...
Official Remittances to Nigeria Plummet by Almost 40% in a Year When Crypto Use Surged
14.5.2021
According to the latest data from the World Bank, international money transfers into Nigeria dropped by nearly 40% from $23.8 billion recorded in 2019 to $17.2 billion in the past year. Yet despite this fall, remittances, which account for 4% of the country’s GDP, still remain an important...
Official Remittance Inflows to Zimbabwe Surged to $1 Billion After Covid-19 Restrictions Forced Migrants to Use Formal Channels
13.5.2021
Cross border remittances into Zimbabwe surged to $1 billion in 2020, more than a 36% increase from the $636m that was recorded in 2019. This surge in remittances occurred despite the “steep decline in economic activity in host countries, which in turn made it difficult for migrants in...
Latam Based Exchange Bitso Gets Unicorn Status After $250 Million Funding Round
7.5.2021
Bitso, one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges in Latam, has reached unicorn status after a funding round that managed to raise $250 million with the participation of some big names in the cryptocurrency world. The company announced it would use these resources to expand its operations and keep...
Telcoin (TEL) gains 300% after layer-2 migration to the Polygon network
6.5.2021
TEL price broke out into a vertical rally after a protocol upgrade and a layer-2 migration that enabled trading on QuickSwap
Some African Crypto Users See Bitcoin as an Alternative Source of Retirement Income
1.5.2021
Bitcoin use cases in African countries continue to expand with the latest one being its use as an alternative source of retirement income. On a continent plagued by high inflation and unstable currencies, bitcoin, which is decentralized and censorship-resistant, is seen “as a safer source...
South Korean Government Seeks to Regulate International Remittances Related to Crypto ‘Kimchi Premium’
22.4.2021
The famous gap in cryptocurrency prices in South Korean crypto exchanges and overseas ones known as “kimchi premium” raises some concerns among the nation’s government. The latest reports suggest that the country is planning to regulate international remittances tied to kimchi...
Communist Party of Cuba Suggests Including Cryptocurrencies as an Alternative to Deal With Economic Crisis
20.4.2021
When a country faces a severe economic crisis or living in a long-lasting political turmoil, cryptocurrencies are often discussed as an alternative to deal with the tough times. Although cryptos are not an unfamiliar issue in Cuba, the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) has been recently showing...
First Bank Caps Remittances in Bid to Block Kimchi Premium Opportunists
20.4.2021
One of South Korea’s biggest commercial banks, Woori, has fallen into line with government efforts to restrict the flow of money overseas in crypto purchases by imposing limits on remittances made to individuals and companies based in China.
Woori was the first to blink after the government...
Seoul to Target Kimchi Premium Crypto Sellers by Policing Int’l Remittances
20.4.2021
The South Korean government is consulting on plans to regulate overseas remittances and banks with ties to crypto exchanges over concerns money is flowing abroad from the country in crypto purchases.
Per Maeil Kyungjae, it appears that some South Korea-based investors are attempting to exploit...
Ripple Partner Mercury FX Accepted Into ‘First Cohort’ of a South African Regulatory Sandbox
4.4.2021
South Africa’s Inter-governmental Fintech Working Group (IFWG) recently accepted Mercury FX, a UK-based e-money firm, into the first cohort of its regulatory sandbox. The firm, which harnesses the Ripplenet blockchain, says it wants to demonstrate its technology’s ability “to...
African Migrants Are Turning to Cryptocurrency Platforms for ‘Low-Fee Remittances’
31.3.2021
As central banks on the African continent fight to keep cryptocurrencies from going mainstream, many more migrant workers are increasingly turning to money-sending platforms that use cryptocurrencies when moving funds across borders. More Than Just an Investment Thus in addition to becoming...
Nigeria to Pay 1.2 Cents for Each Dollar Remitted to the Country to Combat Cryptocurrency Use
9.3.2021
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced a scheme that seeks to boost international remittances as well as to encourage the use of official corridors when retrieving funds. The CBN’s move to incentivise recipients follows the plummeting of the country’s official remittances...
IMF Representative of Nigeria Calls for Caution Over the Use of Cryptocurrencies
20.2.2021
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) resident representative for Nigeria, Ari Aisen recently discussed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) directive that targets crypto entities. In remarks made during a special virtual press briefing, Aisen repeats some of the CBN’s claims that...