{"id":19617,"date":"2023-06-30T00:06:03","date_gmt":"2023-06-30T00:06:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nftandcrypto-news.com\/crypto\/crypto-offers-africans-a-lifeline-from-inflation-and-corruption-say-execs\/"},"modified":"2023-06-30T00:06:05","modified_gmt":"2023-06-30T00:06:05","slug":"crypto-offers-africans-a-lifeline-from-inflation-and-corruption-say-execs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nftandcrypto-news.com\/crypto\/crypto-offers-africans-a-lifeline-from-inflation-and-corruption-say-execs\/","title":{"rendered":"Crypto offers Africans a \u2018lifeline\u2019 from inflation and corruption, say execs"},"content":{"rendered":"

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While many investors in the West may look to crypto to speculate the next biggest trend, blockchain technology is actually solving \u201creal-world problems\u201d in Africa such as hyperinflation and “corruption,” executives told Cointelegraph.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Cointelegraph, Chris Maurice, founder and CEO of Yellow Card \u2014 Africa\u2019s largest cryptocurrency exchange \u2014 said crypto in Africa \u201cis growing at the speed of light\u201d because it allows many Africans to escape from the traditional financial system\u2019s failures and transact more freely.<\/p>\n

\u201cCrypto solves real-world problems with banking and currencies on the continent, and it isn’t the casino that it can feel like sometimes in the West.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Maurice said the most common use cases in Africa are to make international payments, to send money to friends and family and to \u201csave money against inflation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCrypto in Africa lives closer than any other part of the world to the original mission of the technology,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

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Africa has more crypto users than North America or Europe.<\/p>\n

6 of the top 20 countries in the world for crypto are in Africa.<\/p>\n

Africa is the crypto continent. https:\/\/t.co\/NzodcOkMYn<\/p>\n

\u2014 Chris Maurice\u269c\ufe0f (@chrismaurice) April 24, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Kevin Imani, the founder and CEO of Sankore 2.0 \u2014 an affiliate of layer-1 Near Protocol \u2014 believes blockchain-based payments can act as a human rights technology:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to recognize the human rights protections that it provides to people in underdeveloped nations. In many developing countries, hyperinflationary pressure and corruption have left citizens with few options.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cCryptocurrencies offer a lifeline to these individuals, providing greater financial inclusion and control over their money,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

According to Statistica, inflation rates in Sub-Saharan Africa reached an estimated 14.5% in 2022 \u2014 which marks the region\u2019s largest annual change since the 2008 recession.<\/p>\n

Imani said the \u201cability to counter weak national currencies and corruption\u201d and increase financial inclusion makes peer-to-peer crypto transactions a no-brainer for many Africans.<\/p>\n

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From Lagos to Nairobi, Accra to Cape Town, Africa is emerging as a powerhouse of tech innovation.<\/p>\n

Watch this space! #BlockchaininAfrica<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/LYGZCQ0u9Z<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 NEAR Kenya | NEAR is Now (@NearKenya) June 19, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cI personally see Crypto as Africa’s next shot at life, another opportunity to be part of something great, as opposed to the internet revolution of the 2000s, when most Africans weren’t as exposed as today,\u201d added Okoye Kevin Chibuoyim, the founder and CEO of crypto education platform GIDA, based in Nigeria.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfricans are used to bad governments that aren’t accountable and transparent, but here, the blockchain flashes its transparent nature here and makes everyone trust the system,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Related: <\/em><\/strong>Africa: The next hub for Bitcoin, crypto adoption and venture capital?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

In April, Block \u2014 a U.S. digital payments firm led by Jack Dorsey \u2014 partnered with Yellow Card to facilitate cross-border payments in Africa based on Block\u2019s infrastructure. <\/p>\n

After the number of cryptocurrency users increased by 2,500% in 2021, the region experienced an 11-fold explosion in venture capital funding in 2022.<\/p>\n

Maurice said Nigerians have adopted cryptocurrency \u201clike no one else\u201d in the region \u2014 with one local publication reporting in May that 47% of Nigerians own or transact with crypto on a daily basis.<\/p>\n

While Maurice said Botswana has the \u201cmost legal and regulatory clarity,\u201d cryptocurrency is now reportedly illegal in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Gabon, Guyana, Lesotho, Libya and Zimbabwe, according to Investopedia. <\/p>\n

Magazine: <\/strong>Bitcoin in Senegal: Why is this African country using BTC?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n