A recent report suggests that the lack of traditional financial infrastructure makes Africa a place where cryptocurrency adoption is likely. The report — shared with Cointelegraph by a Luno representative on May 27 — sheds light on Africa’s financial infrastructure and the role that cryptocurrencies play in it. The author of the research, which was jointly conducted by market analysis firm Arcane Research and crypto exchange, Luno, wrote that the financial landscape seen on the continent plays a role in forming appetite for crypto in Africa: “Although it is a diverse region, African nations share some key similarities and trends. …

On Feb. 28, the Litecoin Foundation announced a partnership with MeconCash to roll-out Litecoin (LTC) to Korean won withdrawals and remittances from 13,000 ATMs in South Korea. The partnership will see LTC integrated onto MeconCash’s M.Pay payments platform. Litecoin will also be accepted as payment on MeconCash’s retail platform MeconMall, and to pay for games that accept M.Pay rewards. According to CryptoCompare, 24-hour trade between Litcoin and won produced nearly $4.3 million in trade — comprising 0.82 percent of total trade at press time. Charlie Lee, the managing director of the Litecoin Foundation, described the partnership as “a big step …

On Oct. 3 and 4, Ripple hosted a gathering of 200 developers, researchers and graduate students at the University of California, Berkeley campus for its first annual University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI) conference. Known as UBRI Connect 2019, this is Ripple’s major academic conference focused on blockchain and digital assets from a multidisciplinary perspective, hosted in partnership with Berkeley. hbjhjhbbhb The event welcomed over 40 schools from 14 different countries to discuss blockchain and crypto across business, law and engineering. UBRI Connect also provided the opportunity for Ripple’s developer platform for payments, Xpring, and its global payments network, RippleNet, to …

The World Economic Forum (WEF) has appointed the CEO and founder of BitPesa, Elizabeth Rossiello, to serve as one of two co-chairs of the Global Blockchain Council, according to a press release published Jan. 24. At the WEF Annual Meeting 2019 in Davos, Switzerland this week, Rossiello is reportedly working with both industry experts and the Council’s thirty members — spanning ministers and heads of regulatory agencies, CEOs and representatives from the civil and technological spheres — to determine the agenda and foremost priorities for the Council. The work following this initial meeting will come to a conclusion with the …

JD Cloud, a subsidiary of China's largest online retailer JD Group, has partnered with digital currency exchange Huobi to explore blockchain technology applications and cloud computing, according to a press release published June 28. According to the press release, the companies have signed a strategic cooperation agreement to jointly explore some key blockchain application scenarios focusing on financial services, Internet of Things (IoT), and supply chain fields. Additionally, the two companies are looking to conduct a study on the underlying technologies of blockchain, including ring signature, homomorphic encryption, Lightning Network, and various forms of consensus algorithm design and implementation. Gang …

“M-Pesa operator Safaricom will not be required to grant access to bitcoin startup BitPesa amid an ongoing legal dispute.” This was the ruling on the 14th of December 2015, by a Kenyan High Court judge. What does this imply for Bitpesa as a company? How does this affect the Bitcoin environment in the sub-region? Is Bitpesa rattled by this development? It has been a series of speculations since the news broke of the joint suit by Lipisha and Bitpesa against Safaricom for the abrupt cut-off from M-Pesa, a platform of Safaricom which served Bitpesa until the 12th of November 2015. …