The world’s largest exchange, Binance, is delisting its own token for trading against the Uganda shilling (UGX). According to a Sept. 9 announcement, the Binance Uganda platform decided to delist and cease trading on all trading pairs for Binance’s native token, Binance Coin (BNB). The BNB/UGX trading pair will be officially removed from Binance on Sept. 17, while BNB deposits will be terminated on Sept. 10, the exchange said. BNB withdrawals will be still available on Binance Uganda till Nov. 6, Binance noted. Binance provided little information about the reasons behind the delistings, only stating that the BNB/UGX trading pair …

Showing continued digital asset growth in Africa, Nigeria-based crypto exchange, Yellow Card, has secured over $1 million in investments from a number of players in the crypto industry, including Polychain, which actively manages the Celo Ecosystem Fund. "Yellow Card has raised $1.5 million from investors to help further our expansion and solidify ourselves as the #1 place to buy and sell Bitcoin in Africa," Chris Maurice, the exchange's CEO, told Cointelegraph. Noting the seed round as finished, Maurice added: "We raised $1.5 million from Polychain, Andreessen Horowitz, and Celo through the Celo Ecosystem Fund. The goal of the raise is …

The businessman behind Akon City, the 2,000-acre crypto project in Senegal ‘powered by’ Akoin tokens, has explained how the futuristic $6 billion city will work. Co-founded with singer Akon, the whitepaper for the Akoin cryptocurrency published in March, says it is a utility token aimed at the African market that powers “atomic swaps” between cryptocurrencies, fiat currencies, and mobile phone credits (a popular store of value in many countries). The platform will be launched on top of the Stellar (XLM) network. The futuristic city is not just a pipe dream either with the project signing a $6 billion construction contract …

Combined global peer-to-peer (P2P) Bitcoin trading volumes have surged to their highest levels since January 2018, with nearly $95 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC) changing hands on Localbitcoins and Paxful in the first week of August. The spike comes as many Latin American markets have seen trade activity rally into new highs over recent weeks, with the Bitcoin P2P markets in Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Bolivia, Honduras, Paraguay, Uruguay and The Bahamas all posting record highs since the start of July. Venezuelan trade still represents the lion’s share of Latin America’s nearly $13 billion in weekly P2P trade, posting more than …

Nigeria, the biggest source of Bitcoin (BTC) trading volume in Africa, is apparently one of the fastest-growing crypto markets in the world, according to a new report. According to a new study by major crypto wallet Blockchain.com, Nigeria has seen the largest influx of activity on its wallet app since April 2020. Nigeria shows biggest interest in Bitcoin globally Published on Aug. 5, the report says that Nigeria has been the best performing country on its platform over the past three months. The report notes a 60% increase in usage of Blockchain.com’s web wallet in the region since April. In …

Charles Hoskinson, CEO of Cardano (ADA) developers IOHK, took to YouTube on July 25 for one of his regular ask-me-anything sessions. Among a wide range of topics covered, Hoskinson gave details about the status of a number of tenders aimed at making inroads into Africa. Can’t win ‘em all Hoskinson admitted that IOHK had been underbid on its primary tender, to facilitate a fertilizer voucher scheme for farmers with Ethiopia’s Agricultural Transformation Agency, or ATA. This was despite putting in what he felt was an incredibly low bid himself. “It was crazy because we thought the contract would cost $500,000 …

Crypto usage and trading has made its way over to Africa, gaining prevalence all over the continent, according to Chris Maurice, CEO of Yellow Card — a crypto exchange based in Lagos, Nigeria. "In terms of the crypto scene and everything, things are growing very rapidly, really across the continent, but specifically in Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, and Kenya," Maurice told Cointelegraph in an interview. With the four mentioned countries leading the crypto charge, Maurice added, "At this point, it's just a matter of time before it continues to expand outward to the rest of the continent." Crypto usage in …

The two Nigerians jetsetters who filled their Instagram accounts with pictures of their ostentatious wealth were extradited from Dubai to the United States. According to the FBI, they were able to convert millions of dollars into Bitcoin (BTC) via the Gemini exchange. Transaction summary for Bitcoin address 16AtGJbaxL2kmzx4mW5ocpT2ysTWxmacWn. Source: Crystal Blockchain The two are Olalekan Jacob Ponle, also known as “Mr. Woodbery,” and “Mark Kain,” and Ramon Olorunwa Abbas, who used the aliases “Ray Hushpuppi” and “Hush”. The FBI complaint focused on the former’s activities and how he used Bitcoin to transfer the stolen funds. Business email compromise — 1,500 …

Recently, the venture arms of corporate giants Volvo and Total invested in blockchain traceability startup Circulor that helps reduce child labor in Africa and aspires to work with Tesla, GM and Ford. Prior to an investment by its venture arm, Volvo was testing Circulor’s platform for over a year. The startup was helping the carmaker to verify the origins of cobalt used in its batteries. Cobalt, as is with many other raw materials, is not always ethically sourced. Circulor is also tracking the origins of another important raw material for car manufacturing, mica, which is used for insulation. Buy mica …

“Understanding the Past, Present & Future of Finance in One Read,” boasts the subtitle of Digital is the Cash by Nathaniel Luz. Whether the book achieves this lofty aim is likely to depend on the readers feelings towards Dash (DASH) being the future of finance. You see, Luz is an ambassador for Dash Africa, and strongly believes that the cryptocurrency represents the future of money. His story is actually more interesting than that, as I discovered when I spoke to him, but potential readers should be warned that parts of this book read more like a press release. It should …

On July 8, Volvo Cars Tech Fund announced their investment in blockchain traceability startup, Circulor. Volvo previously used Circulor’s traceability solution to track cobalt in its batteries. Much of cobalt mining happens in Africa under questionable conditions and involves child labor. In the era where more consumers are becoming concerned with how the products they buy are produced, the ability to verify the entire supply chain may provide a competitive advantage or even become a necessity. Volvo may also be planning to use Circulor’s solution to trace carbon emissions. According to the chief procurement officer at Volvo, Martina Buchhauser, the …

Akon, a famous Senegalese-American musician and a known blockchain supporter, is setting up a blockchain hub in Kenya. Dubbed the “Kenyan Opportunity Hub”, the new venture aims to promote blockchain and artificial intelligence, or AI, education. They also hope to provide Kenyans with more work opportunities. First African blockchain hub launched by Akoin and Effect.AI A joint initiative of Akon’s blockchain startup Akoin and EOSIO-powered project Effect.AI, the hub is set to launch in Q4 2020 and will be the first initiative of its kind in Africa, the companies announced to Cointelegraph on July 1. The project will be handled …