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The year began with great promises for the blockchain community and cryptocurrency in Africa. Cryptocurrencies have gained popularity in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Zimbabwe and Uganda. Innovation has emerged across the continent and has allowed cryptocurrencies to spread to the heart of Africa.
South Africa got the first ATM
South Africa has been at the forefront of encryption. The county is a leader in blockchain and crypto activities. In May, the first cryptocurrency ATM was installed at the Northwold Spar in Johannesburg. The ATM was imported from Portugal to allow South African residents to access various cryptocurrencies. It is designed to process multiple cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin Core (BTC).
After the installation, long queues of people waiting to use the ATM were seen, which eventually caused the installation of many ATMs across the country. With easy accessibility, many people in the region have started using cryptocurrencies.
In addition to South Africa, there are now more ATMs across the continent. Some are found in Kenya and Nigeria.
The economies of South Africa are growing with the help of digital currencies
The research conducted by the World Payment Report of the French banking group BNB Paribas and Capgemini, an IT company, has shown that the South African economy has grown thanks to digital currencies.
The South African economy is home to many bitcoin ATMs. It is also home to cryptographic exchanges like Luno. Banks are also involved in cryptographic space.
The mental openness of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has contributed significantly to the growth of the crypts in the country. Although the regulator does not recognize cryptocurrency as legal tender, it has not prevented the trade in cryptocurrencies. In April, the bank announced plans to create regulatory guidelines for cryptocurrency markets in the country.
The Ugandan prince carries encrypted solar energy
CleanPath Emerging Markets Uganda (CPEM), an energy company, has partnered with Wala, a South African startup, in October. The CPEM was founded by a prince of the Bugandan kingdom, Prince Kudra Kalama. Wala has developed a smartphone application to enable peer-to-peer transactions. The company almost closed its operations due to the high transaction fees of traditional banks, but decided to adopt cryptocurrencies. The company launched the $ DALA token at the end of last year.
The partnership aims to create a blockchain-enabled solar energy project using the $ DALA blockchain. The project also hopes to provide clean energy for the community, create jobs and help build Uganda's economy. Workers in the project will be paid in $ DALA, which will also be used by customers for the purchase of clean solar energy. If everything goes as planned, the project will provide clean energy for 25% of the population. It will also create jobs for over 200,000 people.
The Kenyan parliament instructs its Treasury Secretary to look for cryptocurrencies
Kenyan citizens have also adopted cryptocurrencies; however, the government has been slow to take a position on this. In the second quarter, the Kenyan parliament instructed Henry Rotich, Secretary of the Treasury of Kenya, to check whether the current state of cryptocurrency in the country should be regulated or not. The Kenyan parliament gave him two weeks to conduct the research.
According to reports, Mr. Rotich was questioned on Bitcoin by the national financial planning committee. The committee also wants to investigate why the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) and the Treasurer have allowed people to venture into unregulated activities.
Rotich was commissioned to find out if the country has local exchanges and what is their influence on the country's financial statutes. During the meeting, the government decided that they will decide on the matter once Rotich and his team have completed their investigations.
Members of Parliament such as Kimolo Kuria, a member of the Molo constituency, strongly believe that cryptocurrencies should be regulated. He believes that currencies could be used to increase illegal activities in the country.
It's been months since the committee started the research. There was no report on this. However, some government agencies such as the Independent Electoral Boundaries Commission (IEBC) have decided to use blockchain technology to contribute to the next election process.
