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‘Historic’ BRICS Summit to Be Held Without Putin in Person
20.7.2023
Russian President Vladimir Putin will not travel to Johannesburg for the BRICS summit in August, according to the office of his South African counterpart. Moscow will send Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov instead, the Kremlin confirmed, emphasizing that Putin will join the event via video link. Putin...
Alchemy Pay: Exploring the Development and Trends of the Emerging Crypto Payment Industry with High Demand
19.7.2023
With traditional commercial institutions like Visa, Mastercard, Tesla, BNY Mellon, BlackRock, Gucci and countries such as El Salvador, Central African Republic constantly expanding in the cryptocurrency field, more and more investors are starting to look at cryptocurrency with new eyes. In 2022...
Former Paxful CEO Ray Youssef Urges Platform Users to ‘Cease Trading’
11.7.2023
On July 7, Ray Youssef, the former CEO of Paxful, told users of the peer-to-peer crypto marketplace to stop trading on the platform. Youssef claimed that Paxful is now “just paying legal bills” and that “no African or any non-American should trust any IS corporation.”...
Financial Regulator: South African Crypto Exchanges Must Be Licensed by Year-End
6.7.2023
South Africa’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has mandated that all crypto exchanges register and obtain operational licenses by the end of 2023.
According to the regulator, firms that fail to comply with this guideline and continue operating without a license will face the possibility...
Report: South Africa Regulator Says Unlicensed Crypto Exchanges in 2024 May Be Closed Down
6.7.2023
According to the regulator of the South African financial services industry, cryptocurrency exchanges based in the country must secure operating licenses before the year ends. Crypto exchanges that fail to abide by the requirement will either be fined or closed down, Unathi Kamlana, the Financial...
40% of South Africans Familiar With the ‘Concept of Web3’ — Study
2.7.2023
Some 40% of South African survey participants are familiar with the concept of Web3 and a further 80% believe the technology backing cryptocurrencies can “transform or fully rebuild the financial system,” according to the findings of a Consensys survey. However, as much as 59% believe...
Haru Invest Fallout: South African Crypto Platform Says Customers Can Only Access 76% of Crypto Holdings
30.6.2023
The South African crypto platform, Revix, said on June 28 that customers can now only access just over three-quarters (76%) of their crypto assets. Revix said the move to block customers’ access to 24% of their crypto assets was made after one of its primary service providers Haru Invest...
Tanzanian Central Bank Says Quoting Prices in Foreign Currency Against the Law
24.6.2023
The Bank of Tanzania (BOT) has reiterated that shillings remain the East African country’s sole legal tender. The apex bank said residents quoting prices in foreign currency or those refusing payment in Tanzanian shillings are in violation of the Bank of Tanzania Act 2006. The central bank...
Study: Crypto Adoption More Significant in Poorer African Countries
23.6.2023
While as much as 66% of surveyed African residents claimed to have been exposed to digital assets like bitcoin, about 82% of respondents said they have never owned crypto. The findings of the survey study suggest that the adoption of crypto is more significant in poorer African countries than...
Kenyan President Ruto Doubles Down on De-Dollarization Call — ‘We Just Want to Trade Much More Freely’
17.6.2023
Kenyan President William Ruto has repeated his call on African countries to consider ditching the U.S. dollar when settling cross-border trades. The Kenyan leader claimed that the African continent already has a mechanism that enables the seamless settling of transactions between traders. Further...
France’s Macron Hopes to Attend BRICS Summit in South Africa, Report
16.6.2023
French President Emmanuel Macron wants to join the leaders of the BRICS nations when they meet in August, according to a press report. While his participation in the multipolar bloc’s summit is uncertain, Macron has already scheduled another summit in Paris to discuss the establishment of...
Report: Pan-African Crypto Exchange Mara Lays Off Majority of Employees
9.6.2023
African crypto exchange Mara has not only parted ways with a reported 85% of its staff but has cut the salaries of workers that have remained. Although Mara has cast the layoffs as an exercise which aims to remove redundant roles, former employees have said the startup’s ballooning marketing...
World Mobile eyes African rollout after decentralized wireless field tests
8.6.2023
World Mobile announces the completion of DeWi technology field tests in Kenya, Mozambique and Nigeria, bringing a full African rollout one step closer
Tether Surpasses Previous Market Cap Record, Reaching $83.23 Billion
1.6.2023
On June 1, 2023, the stablecoin issuer Tether exceeded the dollar-linked token USDT’s previous all-time market capitalization record of $83.2 billion, which was set in May 2022. In the last 186 days, USDT’s market value has surged by 27.15% from the low of $65.43 billion reached...
Kenyan President William Ruto Urges African Countries to Commence Process to Ditch the Dollar
1.6.2023
Kenyan President William Ruto recently urged his counterparts on the African continent to kickstart the process of ditching the U.S. dollar and replacing it with a pan-African settlement system. Ruto said the Pan-African Payments and Settlement System (PAPSS) allows business people to focus...
South Africa’s Perceived Pro-Russia Stance May Result in Secondary Sanctions Which Threaten Financial Stability — Central Bank
30.5.2023
The South African central bank has said the that perception that the African nation has aligned itself with Russia could result in the imposition of secondary sanctions which threaten financial stability. The bank also warned in its latest financial stability review that such a perception poses...
South African Rand Plunges to New Low After Benchmark Interest Rate Is Raised to 14-Year High
29.5.2023
The South African fiat currency’s exchange rate versus the U.S. dollar plunged to a new all-time low of 19.7640 per dollar on May 25 just moments after the South African Reserve Bank raised the benchmark interest rate to its highest since 2009. Although the currency has since made some...
Brazil Sees BRICS Bank as Alternative Financial Institution, President Lula Says
27.5.2023
The government of Brazil views the development bank established by the BRICS bloc as an alternative to traditional financial institutions, the country’s head of state told African diplomats. President Lula da Silva also vowed that the bank will improve cooperation with its African counterpart....
Study: Africa Likely to Leapfrog Leading Fintech Regions if It Adopts New Technologies
25.5.2023
Africa will likely leapfrog the top fintech regions if startups on the continent adopt new technologies, the Global Fintech 2023 report by the Boston Consulting Group and QED Investors has said. The report points to the African continent’s young population as well as the projected population...
African Fintech M-Kopa Secures $200M in Debt Financing Plus $55M in Equity Funding
24.5.2023
Kenya-headquartered African fintech M-Kopa is reported to have secured $200 million in debt financing and an additional $55 million in equity funding. Financial services group Standard Bank Group led the debt financing round while the investment company Sumitomo Corporation led the equity round...