AFRICA
African Blockchain Ventures See Explosive Growth
African blockchain ventures experienced a 429% increase in funding, surpassing the global average of 4%. Seychelles and South Africa accounted for 81% of the funding, and Nigeria had the highest number of deals but only accounted for 3.4% of funding. Median deal size has significantly increased, indicating growing investor confidence.
Shapella Upgrade, Privacy Concerns, Hacks, and Financial Inclusion
The DeFi space had a busy week with the successful completion of the Shapella upgrade on Ethereum, concerns over privacy related to staking, a major DeFi hack, and a partnership between Fonbnk and Tanda to increase financial inclusion in Africa. The top 100 DeFi tokens had a bullish week, and Glassnode predicted only a small percentage of staked ETH would be withdrawn.
Gamers in Africa Can Earn Bitcoin While Playing Classic Titles
Zebedee has partnered with Bitnob to allow African gamers to earn Bitcoin while playing classic games such as Counter-Strike. The Bitcoin Lightning Network will allow game developers to replace in-game points with Bitcoin, which can then be converted to local currencies.
CBN is continuing to develop its eNaira
R3, the CBN's possible technology partner, will help design a new system to give the CBN complete authority over the CBDC.
Africa Web3 Gaming Publisher Carry1st Raises $27M
Carry1st raised $27 million to expand its African publishing and digital content development platform. The additional money will enhance Pay1st's monetization-as-a-service platform. Africa is a fast-growing digital asset market.
BIS analysis reveals unequal CBDC uptake in Africa
CBDC helps African central banks implement monetary policy. A CBDC would save money on banknotes, transportation, and storage. Sub-Saharan Africa sends two-thirds of the world's money.
Crypto Adoption in Sub-Saharan Africa Rises, Study Shows
Many young people in Sub-Saharan Africa are taking the cryptocurrency route to build and preserve wealth despite low economic opportunities.
Binance Rolls Out Crypto Education Tour in 5 French-Speaking African Nations
To propel blockchain adoption and financial accessibility on African soil, crypto exchange Binance has launched a crypto education tour in five french-speaking countries.
Pan-African Crypto Exchange Yellow Card raises $40M in Series B Funding Round
The round was led by Polychain Capital. The significance of the funding raise, especially in the ongoing market downturn, reflects the level of business confidence expressed by new and existing investors.
Celo Launches Web3 Africa Fund to Support Blockchain Startups
Celo, a mobile phone-focused blockchain platform, launched the Celo Web3 Africa Fund with the goal of supporting 250 projects in the development of African projects.
Swiss Crypto Firm Launches Venture Fund, Supporting African Early-Stage Blockchain Startups
Crypto Valley Venture Capital's venture fund will offer early-stage financing to African blockchain startups that have the potential to benefit humanity.
NEAR Foundation Sets Up a Regional Hub in Kenya, Boosting Blockchain Innovation in Africa
NEAR Foundation has launched a regional hub in Kenya in collaboration with Sankore, an African-focused blockchain community, to trigger talent development, education, and blockchain innovation on African soil.
Binance Provides Blockchain Education to Francophone Africa, Narrowing the Financial Gap
To offer lifelong financial and career development to French-speaking Africans, leading crypto exchange Binance is offering blockchain education in Cameroon and Francophone Africa.
LocalBitcoins Clocks 300,000 Mobile App Downloads, With Africa Making a Mark
Two months after reaching 200,000 mobile app downloads on iOS and Android, LocalBitcoins has scaled the heights by crossing the 300,000 mark.
Lemonade to Offer Blockchain-Powered Climate Insurance for Farmers in Emerging Markets
American insurance company Lemonade has revealed the formation of Lemonade Crypto Climate Coalition which will offer blockchain-enabled climate insurance to the most vulnerable farmers across the globe.
