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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...
Nigeria Crypto Ban: Stakeholder Body, Politicians Assail Central Bank’s Directive to Financial Institutions
16.2.2021
A body representing cryptocurrency and blockchain stakeholders in Nigeria has joined other crypto industry players in assailing the recent Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) directive to banks. The CBN order, which seeks snuff out crypto entities from the banking system, took effect on February 5, 2020....
Paxful Celebrates the Real Reasons People Use Bitcoin Everyday With #BitcoinForAll Giveaway
8.2.2021
Paxful, one of the largest peer-to-peer cryptocurrency marketplaces in the world, is celebrating the real reasons people use bitcoin everyday with a special $15,000 giveaway. The platform helps millions to have access to payments, e-commerce, remittances, wealth preservation and philanthropy with...
Central Bank of Nigeria Orders Banks to Close Accounts of Crypto Clients as Remittances via Traditional Corridors Drop by 97%
6.2.2021
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has circulated a letter directing banks and financial institutions to identify and close accounts of cryptocurrency transacting entities. The directive, which took immediate effect, threatens “severe regulatory sanctions” to financial institutions that...
Ripple Tech to Power New Malaysia-Bangladesh Remittance Corridor
15.1.2021
Malaysia's Mobile Money and Bangladesh's bKash will leverage RippleNet for wallet-to-wallet transactions
Nigerian Youth Propels the Country to the Top of Google Bitcoin Search Rankings
15.1.2021
Nigeria, one of the biggest cryptocurrency markets in the world, recently emerged as the country with the highest number of bitcoin searches globally, according to Google Trends data. The data shows that the West African country has a search score of 100, which is more than double that of...
Ghanaian Startup Bitsika Africa Processed $40 Million in Crypto Remittances in 2020, up 3,900% Year-on-Year
5.1.2021
Bitsika Africa, a crypto startup operating out of Ghana and Nigeria, said Monday that it processed almost $40 million in remittances in 2020, up from just under $1 million the previous year. Founder and chief executive officer Atsu Davoh said that deposits accounted for $18.87 million of the total...
Digital banking: How DeFi can lower costs for everyone
23.12.2020
There’s often talk about how decentralized finance could eliminate the need for traditional banks… but what if DeFi could enhance their digital services?