Ben Strack

North America’s largest public crypto miner has made global expansion a part of its strategy. While Florida-based Marathon Digital has already branched out to the United Arab Emirates and Paraguay in recent months, it also has its eye on a continent seeing an influx of miners.



“We are looking at Africa,” said Charlie Schumacher, vice president of corporate communications at <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/marathon-digital">Marathon Digital</a>. “We believe that bitcoin mining is, among other things, a technology solution for the energy sector, and Africa may be a great place to prove out this thesis.”



Ethiopia has seen an increased inflow of miners recently as companies in the segment search for low-cost energy and ideal climate, Bloomberg has <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-02-08/bitcoin-mining-why-ethiopia-is-attracting-chinese-crypto-miners">reported</a>. It has become home to Chinese companies, for example, who were forced out of operating in their home country following a crypto mining ban in 2021.



Certain African countries have stranded or underutilized power, Schumacher told Blockworks. “If we can attach bitcoin miners to these power sources, then we can increase the profitability of those power sources and ensure they stay online for the people who need them,” he said.&nbsp;



“Across the continent, there is also a need for more power,” Schumacher added. “Bitcoin miners can incentivize the buildout of more power across the continent by serving as the first customer for new power projects.”



Marathon Digital, which has US operations in Texas, Nebraska and North Dakota, increased its hash rate in January to 26.4 exahashes per second (EH/s), a 7% month-over-month increase.&nbsp;



Read more: <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/bitcoin-mining-giant-gets-bigger">A bitcoin mining behemoth makes buy to get even bigger</a>



Last year, the company expanded into the United Arab Emirates through a joint venture with FS Innovation. It more recently, in November, partnered with Penguin Infrastructure Holding to <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/marathon-mining-bitcoin-halving">establish a new operation near Paraguay’s Itaipu Dam</a>.&nbsp;



Marathon executives have said geographic diversity is one way the company can reduce costs ahead of the <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/bitcoin-halving">bitcoin halving</a> slated in April — an event during which per-block rewards for miners are slashed in half.&nbsp;



Read more: <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/bitcoin-halving-expected-on-4-20">Bitcoin halving expected to hit on 4/20</a>



As Marathon keeps watch on developments in Africa, one of its biggest competitors remains focused on building out its already sizable footprint in the US.



A spokesperson for <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/core-scientific">Core Scientific</a> told Blockworks that the company looks to execute its “pragmatic, multi-year growth plan” for an additional 372 megawatts of infrastructure at its data centers in Texas.



Core Scientific, which <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/core-scientific-emerges-from-bankruptcy">emerged out of bankruptcy last month</a>, had an energized self-mining hash rate of 18.6 EH/s at the end of January.



“We continuously evaluate growth opportunities, both within and outside of the United States, and believe that a consistent and supportive regulatory framework is essential to the long-term success of bitcoin mining and the security of the bitcoin network,&#8221; the representative added.



Like Core Scientific, other large US public miners also appear to be prioritizing domestic expansion. Colorado-based Riot Platforms, with a deployed hash rate of 12.4 EH/s, operates mainly in Texas and has not disclosed plans to build sites in other countries. Las Vegas-headquartered CleanSpark, with a hash rate of 10.1 EH/s, recently <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/cleanspark-site-acquisition-bitcoin-halving">bought facilities in Mississippi and Georgia</a>.



Representatives for Riot Platforms and CleanSpark did not return a request for comment.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.

US bitcoin mining giant ‘looking at Africa’ amid expansion efforts

James Cirrone

A little less than six years after Namibia outlawed the exchange of virtual currencies, the country this week passed a crypto bill laying out a local path forward for the industry.&nbsp;



Following the president signing the bill in mid-July and additional procedural steps, Namibia’s Virtual Assets Act of 2023 has officially become law.



This law represents a significant departure from Namibia’s long-held position on crypto.&nbsp;



In September 2017, Namibia’s central bank penned a <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20171117174632/https://www.bon.com.na/CMSTemplates/Bon/Files/bon.com.na/c6/c6e59534-4bc8-4730-a091-eaffa172d2e9.pdf">paper</a> arguing that based on its reading of a 1961 law, it was illegal to “establish virtual currency exchanges or engage in activities that provide or facilitate the conversion or exchanging of virtual currencies.”&nbsp;



The central bank took a slight step back from that stance in May 2018, <a href="https://www.bon.com.na/CMSTemplates/Bon/Files/bon.com.na/20/2083bddd-a3c2-4932-b7e4-412e65b17e12.pdf?ref=benjamindada.com">saying</a> cryptocurrencies “may be used as a payment instrument to pay merchants on the internet for goods and services.” It still said setting up cryptocurrency exchanges was illegal.



Despite its softened stance, in 2021, the central bank <a href="https://news.bitcoin.com/bank-of-namibia-warns-crypto-traders-it-will-not-entertain-complaints-scammed/">professed</a> it wouldn’t help the victims of crypto scams.



Two years later, the law Namibia endorsed will focus on protecting consumers and mitigating money laundering and terrorism financing risks. It intends to do so with the establishment of a regulatory authority that will be charged with supervising virtual asset service providers (VASPs).



According to the <a href="https://gazettes.africa/akn/na/officialGazette/government-gazette/2023-07-21/8143/eng@2023-07-21">law</a>, the authority has the power to license VASPs, appoint inspectors for investigations, and take enforcement action against license holders. VASPs are a structure for overseeing financial entities that have been employed elsewhere, including the UAE.&nbsp;



Firms are subject to different license classifications depending on their functions. There’s a license for initial token offerings, virtual asset broker-dealers, wallet services, custodians and advisory services.&nbsp;



License holders also must be incorporated in Namibia and must comply with additional financial laws and regulations.&nbsp;



Another key provision seemingly excludes central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) or other equivalents from scrutiny, because the law says “virtual assets” don’t include “digital representations of fiat currencies.”



As of October 2022, the Bank of Namibia is currently researching CBDCs, according to the Atlantic Council’s <a href="https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/cbdctracker/">tracker</a>.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.

Namibia pivots on crypto, will regulate — not ban — digital assets with new law

Ornella Hernandez

While the motivations of speculation and status may reign within the NFT community, there is another use case for Web3 projects that has been on display this year — social good.



NFT collections, metaverse activations and DAO fundraisers can all be leveraged to raise money for charitable causes, from environmental projects to humanitarian initiatives.



This holiday season, Blockworks rounded up some of the top examples of metaverse activations and NFT projects used for social good in 2022. 



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Preserving cultural heritage</h3>



Quantum Temple is a startup that is attempting to leverage Web3 to protect and preserve the cultural heritage of communities around the world.



By documenting culture and traditions in the form of NFTs, Quantum Temple hopes to raise awareness and appeal to conscious collectors and travelers who wish to support these communities. These digital assets are curated and verified by anthropologists.



<a href="https://www.unesco.org/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UNESCO</a> defines cultural heritage as oral traditions and expressions, performing arts, rituals and festive events, knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe, and traditional craftsmanship. 



For example, one of the first projects, currently in development, is a collection of cultural heritage NFTs focused on Bali, Indonesia that feature the ‘Cendrawasih’ dance, meaning the dance of the ‘Bird of Paradise.’ This ritual comes from Legong, a refined classical dance in Bali, and is based on the courtship rituals of Cendrawasih birds.&nbsp;



Professor Steve Lansing and adviser to the project said that this approach “opens up new ways for communities to share their heritage with the world and generates new revenue streams to directly benefit communities and artists” via NFT proceeds.



Videos of the Cendrawasih dance will be preserved for posterity on the Ethereum and Algorand blockchains and will benefit the Legong Dance School in Se Bali. Video and image files are stored on the Interplanetary File System (IPFS) distributed file storage protocol, the Quantum Temple team said, a <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/ftx-nftx-are-mia" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">common technique for NFTs projects involving media</a>. 



One of the dancers featured in the collection, Ni Kadek Virna Erikayani, said that she wishes “the international community to better understand my home culture and values, so that we can grow to respect each other, support each other, and understand each other.”



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Web3 education</h3>



Upland, an EOS blockchain-based metaverse platform that is linked to geographical countries and cities, partnered with UNICEF Brazil to develop a virtual Web3 academy that provides technology training to Brazilian young adults.



Two UNICEF-branded structures have been built in the virtual Rio de Janeiro on <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/upland-scores-argentina-football-deal-for-eos-based-metaverse">Upland</a> and a holiday NFT fundraiser is underway. Users can purchase the UNICEF Winter Gnomes and UNICEF Winter Ornaments to decorate their Upland homes and properties.&nbsp;



The sale&#8217;s proceeds will be used as a direct donation to the United Nations Children’s Fund, including dedicated funds to support and sponsor the education programs of UNICEF in Brazil, <a href="https://www.upland.me/events/supporting-unicef-brazils-youth-education-in-the-metaverse">according</a> to Upland.



UNICEF did not immediately return a request for comment.



Approximately 50% of proceeds from the Upland fundraiser power UNICEF’s One Million Opportunities (1MiO) program, which provides opportunities for professional training, employability and income generation for young adults (from 14 to 29 years old) in situations of vulnerability.&nbsp;



Students will be both physically and virtually trained in the basics of Web3, blockchain technology, smart contracts and metaverse fundamentals, according to Upland.&nbsp;



Courses will teach students digital skills when it comes to using the Upland metaverse, as well as how to apply those learning to crypto staking, tokenization and other Web3 related education. There will also be classes to learn entrepreneurial skills and on how to identify job opportunities in the metaverse economy and Web3 industry.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">“In partnership with <a href="https://twitter.com/unicefbrasil?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@unicefbrasil</a>, we’re excited to create an opportunity for Brazil’s youth to learn how to create the same opportunities for themselves through a multi-touch web3 experience showcasing fun [CONT.] <a href="https://t.co/zXBjEpp6zC">pic.twitter.com/zXBjEpp6zC</a>&mdash; Upland (@UplandMe) <a href="https://twitter.com/UplandMe/status/1605630036744495104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 21, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Healthcare in Africa</h3>



NFTs are being used to tackle the UN’s sustainable development goals when it comes to healthcare. The Women in Innovation Fund (WiN Fund), co-founded by Reckitt, is using the proceeds from NFTs sales to invest in women-led healthcare startups in Africa, addressing the UN’s third such goal — good health and well-being.



The benefits of blockchain for healthcare and democracy are being explored in countries with unstable leadership.&nbsp;



Women are more attuned to the healthcare needs of their community, according to Corinne Momal-Vanian, the executive director of the Kofi Annan Foundation. “Women entrepreneurs — from what we’ve seen in Africa — can drive innovation, can drive efficiency and can really have a place in the healthcare ecosystem that governments cannot fill,” she said at a UN-adjacent roundtable discussion in New York in September.



WiN Fund co-founder Pradeep Kakkattil, pointed to a worrying statistic: Only 2% of venture capital investments globally go to women-led enterprises, despite the fact that women-led businesses deliver 35% higher returns and create 6 times more jobs.&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Celebrating differences</h3>



The Sandbox and the organization People of Crypto Lab (POC) debuted the ‘Valley of Belonging.’’ They <a href="https://sandboxgame.medium.com/people-of-crypto-lab-poc-and-the-sandbox-to-debut-the-first-diversity-equity-and-inclusivity-hub-8806525d11dc" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">described</a> it as a ‘cultureverse’ or a diversity, equity and inclusivity hub in the metaverse that highlights the importance of an equitable Web3 community. That means using their virtual space to amplify creators, developers and brands that represent people of all races, ethnicity and backgrounds.



Their first project onboarded the cosmetics brand NYX Professional Makeup in The Sandbox to celebrate Pride Month via an 8,430 NFT avatar collection featuring voxelized makeup looks on the avatars.



Avatar traits included over 36 skin shades and eight NYX looks to show that makeup has no gender or sexual orientation. Additional customizable traits ranged from prosthetic limbs to various Muslim head coverings such as the hijab.&nbsp;



This activation even sought to represent handicapped community members by including non-player characters (NPCs) in wheelchairs, guiding players through special quests and mini games.



NYX donated 100% of its proceeds amounting to $50,000 from the sold out sale of the avatar NFTs to the Los Angeles LGBT Center.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Wildlife conservation</h3>



Netherlands-based decentralized carbon credit exchange Coorest and conservation consulting firm PLCnetwork of the Southern Hemisphere teamed up to tokenize individual real-world endangered animals at game reserves and privately owned conservation areas in Africa. These wildlife NFTs enable holders to sponsor an elephant, lion, cheetah or rhino. Profits from the sales will go toward food, shelter and security for the animals they represent.



Coorest — best known for operating an NFTrees CO2 compensation system that tokenizes yield-bearing assets or bonds and carbon credits that are tradable on the blockchain — partnered with PLCnetwork of the Southern Hemisphere with connections to wildlife reserves in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana.



According to PLCnetwork founder Dr. Julia Baum, the main issue with on the ground wildlife conservation is that &#8220;it is costly and resources are often very limited.&#8221; Even for a private reserve with a generally bigger budget, the cost of taking care of an African bush elephant, for example, can be very expensive because it includes fencing, monitoring, 24-hour anti-poaching patrols and veterinary support.



Owning an “elephaNFT” or a “lioNFT” does not give ownership over the animals, rather it provides monthly &#8220;proof-of-life&#8221; verification that the animal is still alive. The metadata of each NFT contains information about the species, age and gender, specific to each tokenized animal. Holders will also be invited to visit the wildlife reserve and meet the animals. 70% of the funds from these Wildlife NFTs go to the game reserve or conservation area, with the funds released on a monthly or set schedule.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Support for Ukraine</h3>



Crypto donors flocked towards Ukraine supporting causes when the Russian-Ukraine war started in February, and tested the power of DAOs (decentralized autonomous organizations) as fundraising tools.&nbsp;



Ukraine DAO ended up raising $8 million in only a couple of days from the sale of an NFT of the Ukrainian flag. Proceeds went towards nonprofits and non-governmental organizations. Ukrainian-born activist Alona Shevchenko reached out to <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/pussy-riot-founders-unicorndao-to-make-space-for-women-lgbtq-nft-artists" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pussy Riot’s Nadya Tolokonnikova</a> to organize the group. 



After only two weeks of conflict, over 102,000 crypto asset donations, totaling $54.7 million in ether, bitcoin and tether, were tracked, supporting the Ukrainian government and Come Back Alive, an NGO providing support to the military.



The government turned to Twitter to <a href="https://twitter.com/Ukraine/status/1497594592438497282?s=20&amp;t=9STvmfN1kKAvce4YQt686g" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ask</a> people to donate crypto. It even founded a nonprofit war fund — Aid For Ukraine — which reported <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/ukraine-fund-spends-54m-of-crypto-donations-on-military-gear" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">spending $54 million of its crypto donations on military hardware</a> by August. Founded by Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation in March, around $11 million went to unmanned aerial vehicles, followed closely by armor vests, computer hardware and software.



Another organization that raised an emergency response fund for Ukraine is The Giving Block — a crypto donation platform that provides charities with back-end support.&nbsp;



According to The Giving Block, ether was the most-donated cryptocurrency in 2021, <a href="https://thegivingblock.com/annual-report/ar21/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">totaling</a> $30.79 million.



2022 saw countless more Web3 projects and fundraising efforts as blockchain technology sought to impact all kinds of industries from education and healthcare to beauty. Whether it’s NFT or DAO fundraisers or metaverse activations, blockchain technology has its benevolent side.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.

6 Projects Using NFTs for Social Good

Casey Wagner

Whether bitcoin can serve as an effective medium of exchange has been debated since the world’s first cryptocurrency launched, but a recent uptick in demand from non-US markets demonstrates the use case has picked up steam, market participants told Blockworks.



Blockchain-enabled payments are particularly useful in emerging markets, Jack Mallers, founder and CEO of digital payments platform Strike, said in a <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20221206005453/en/Strike-Launches-Lightning-Fast-Money-Transfers-to-Africa" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">statement</a>. 



In a bid to match growing demand, Strike launched a new feature for US users to send bitcoin to Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya instantly and with minimal fees, the company said Tuesday.&nbsp;



“High fees, slow settlement, and lack of innovation in cross-border payments have negatively impacted the developing world,” Mallers said.&nbsp;



The Central African Republic — one of the world’s most impoverished countries — made bitcoin its legal tender in April of this year, about seven months after El Salvador became the first nation to do so. The move was intended to be a “quick win” for setting the country up for future success, <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/central-african-republic-looks-for-quick-wins-becomes-second-country-to-adopt-bitcoin" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">government officials said</a>. 



“The current financial system isn&#8217;t set up in a way that ensures equal access for people and institutions from Africa,” Bernard Parah, founder and CEO of African payments provider Bitnob, said.&nbsp;



<a href="https://blockworks.co/news/why-emerging-markets-are-leading-the-charge-on-cbdcs" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Emerging markets</a> have also come out as top innovators when it comes to crypto payments in recent months. 



Countries such as Jamaica, the Bahamas and Nigeria are at the forefront and have launched central bank digital currencies, while Brazil and Haiti have expressed interest in exploring their own. The trend can be attributed to these economies having more pressing, fundamental needs than those of more developed markets, according to Steve Aschettino, a Norton Rose Fulbright partner focused on fintech.&nbsp;



“Emerging economies appear to view CBDCs as a way to jump start their economies,” Aschettino told Blockworks. “More-developed nations have existing and widely adopted electronic payment mechanisms already in place. While one may say this is an advantage, their existing payments technology can also serve as a barrier to the creation and broad adoption of a CBDC.”



Economies with higher unbanked populations and less robust financial services infrastructure benefit the most from blockchain-enabled payments, according to the Bank for International Settlements. 



“Providing a cash-like digital means of payment, in light of reduced cash usage and an increase in private digital payment services, is the most common consideration,” a May <a href="https://www.bis.org/publ/bppdf/bispap123_a_rh.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">report</a> from the BIS said. “Other significant considerations include strengthening competition among [payment] service providers (PSPs), increasing efficiency and reducing the costs of financial services.”



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.

Bitcoin’s Case for Payments Builds With New Strike Development

<div id="highlights-block_628d560713130" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li> Without substantial improvements to the country’s internet and electricity infrastructure, the plans will not make it far, experts warned</li>
 <li>“Project Sango” plans to create a digital national bank, a crypto wallet and infrastructure that will allow for property payments to be made in bitcoin</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Less than two months after adopting bitcoin as <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/central-african-republic-looks-for-quick-wins-becomes-second-country-to-adopt-bitcoin/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">legal tender</a>, the Central African Republic has launched a “crypto hub” designed to attract people working in digital assets.



The program, “Project Sango,” includes plans to create a digital national bank, a crypto wallet and infrastructure that will allow for property payments to be made in bitcoin, according to an <a href="https://sango.org/sango.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">online presentation</a> the government released in tandem with a <a href="https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0NMB9KS92GbwaveRhi2n4FCGCTHaPS1jNhDkA2Rspzp1e6EAEea9BDVKrQ4mKT5yAl&amp;id=100068314766662&amp;m_entstream_source=timeline" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Facebook post</a> Monday.&nbsp;



The project will roll out legal cryptocurrency policies in phases, with plans to create a “crypto island” at some point.&nbsp;



The plans come as many question the role crypto can play in a country that lacks substantial digital infrastructure.&nbsp;



“This is a country with such limited internet availability, and, for that matter, limited availability of electricity,” said Steve Aschettino, a Norton Rose Fulbright partner concentrating on fintech. “To be able to enable bitcoin transactions requires at least two things: electricity and the internet.”&nbsp;



The Central African Republic plans to “finalize” the “Central African Backbone,” the fiber-optic Internet backbone connecting several countries in Africa, by the end of the year, making its blockchain ambitions possible, the country said.&nbsp;



The sandbox-like initiative is the latest example of emerging markets leaning into blockchain tech. Argentina recently rolled out a so-called “<a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/argentina-moves-to-incubate-crypto-startups-under-regulatory-eye/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">innovation hub</a>” that allows fintech and cryptocurrency startups to build under regulators’ watchful eyes. <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/panama-moves-forward-with-crypto-regulation-bill/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Panama</a> and <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/jamaica-to-launch-cbdc-this-summer/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jamaica</a> are also exploring crypto regulation and related use cases.&nbsp;



“Having embedded compliance and embedded supervision is something that can really accelerate innovation,” said Carmelle Cadet, founder and CEO of CBDC infrastructure provider EMTECH. “If you&#8217;re waiting for the regulatory framework to be in place before the innovation, that&#8217;s not happening right now.”&nbsp;



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.

Shrugging Off Crypto Doubters, Central African Republic Forges Ahead

<div id="highlights-block_62319b1fb1ce6" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Africa is expected to see the fastest growth in mobile money through 2025</li>
 <li>The partnership is expected to support a “mushrooming” NFT community on the continent, AZA Finance CEO Elizabeth Rossiello said</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Crypto exchange FTX has teamed up with Africa-based AZA Finance to expand the adoption of Web3 and digital currencies across the continent.



AZA Finance, a financial tech company focused on payments and foreign exchange products, launched Africa’s first digital currency exchange. It has expanded to 10 African markets to date, executing more than $250 billion in global transactions across roughly 115 countries and 300 currency pairs.



The company became the largest non-bank provider of currency exchange in Africa last year after its acquisition of South African payments company Exchange4Free.



“We’ve been growing our infrastructure across the continent up into Europe and the Middle East for almost nine years now, and we’ve been welcoming some of the largest customers in the world,” AZA Finance CEO Elizabeth Rossiello told Blockworks.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">“This is the first time that we have a partner of this size that also wants to work with us exclusively across the continent and enter some new markets with us.”</blockquote>



An FTX spokesperson said initial priorities in Africa will be the development of fiat on-ramps, the securing of local licenses, localizing its current offerings, fiat liquidity and customer support.



FTX and AZA Finance will work together to connect African markets to the Web3 economy by building infrastructure and educating local users, the companies announced Wednesday.



The companies also seek to make it easier to deposit and pay out in African currencies on FTX.com, and they plan to launch African currency and digital currency trading pairs.



Most exchanges in Africa don’t offer many liquid equities, Rossiello said. As more investors seek alternatives, FTX offers NFTs, as well as tokenized stocks and other tokenized assets that are not readily available on the continent. 



“African customers can access these products by going through multiple counterparties,” Rossiello said. “But to have a direct-to-user experience really requires a true effort from the platform to invest locally in customizing the product suite and working with local regulators.”



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Pent-up demand</h3>



Africa has a growing middle class comprising digitally native people who have been using mobile money for a decade, Rossiello explained.



The continent’s population is projected to double between now and 2050, according to the Brookings Institute. Two-thirds of the population growth will be in urban areas, with a workforce among the world’s largest as early as 2030.&nbsp;



The region had nearly half of global mobile money accounts in 2018 and will see the fastest growth in mobile money through 2025, a separate <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/ForesightAfrica2020_20200110.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Brookings Institute report</a> found.



“This is where the investors of the future are coming from, and I think it’s kind of silly to corner off platforms that are investing in digital currencies as just speculation,” Rossiello said. “This is actually the way that young people are investing today, and by young, I mean anywhere from 15 to 45.”



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">The growth of NFTs</h3>



FTX and AZA Finance will also focus on onboarding African NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and artists to FTX’s NFT marketplace.



The crypto exchange <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/ftx-launches-nft-marketplace/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">first revealed plans</a> for its NFT marketplace in June and <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/ftx-launches-marketplace-for-solana-nfts-ethereum-next/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">launched it</a> later in the year.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Rossiello said the NFT community on the continent is “mushrooming,” but noted that artists and creators have not had a platform offering them liquidity in local currencies.&nbsp;&nbsp;



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">“In a lot of ways, Africa has been excluded from a lot of the financial services and infrastructure around the world, whether it’s from de-risking or other global policies,” she said.</blockquote>



“So we’re just part of the movement of fintechs and home-grown companies that are focused on not letting that happen for Web3.”



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.

FTX and AZA Finance Collaborate To Support Web3 Growth in Africa

Jacquelyn Melinek

<div id="highlights-block_61ca0a307ab1e" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>“We’re looking at starting with Africa initially, but then gradually expanding into other regions in the global South,” Nur Khalil said</li>
 <li>The board wants to further Bitcoin development efforts and grow the ecosystem at large through supporting entrepreneurs and educational initiatives, he said</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Meet 22-year-old Abubakar Nur Khalil. He&#8217;s the chief technology officer and CEO of <meta charset="utf-8">Recursive Capital, an early-stage VC fund in Africa focused on funding and building critical infrastructure for the Bitcoin network. He is also <meta charset="utf-8">a programmer and Bitcoin core contributor, and a board member of ₿trust, <meta charset="utf-8">a new endowment fund of 500 bitcoins for development across Africa and India.&nbsp;



About six months ago, his older brother suggested he apply for the role as a board member of ₿trust, which was created by Rapper Jay-Z and Jack <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/jack-dorsey-says-bitcoin-will-replace-us-dollar-and-you-dont-own-web3/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dorsey</a>, current CEO of <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/jack-dorseys-square-to-change-its-name-to-block/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Block</a>, formerly known as Square. “It‘ll be set up as a blind irrevocable trust, taking zero direction from us,” Dorsey said then in a <a href="https://twitter.com/jack/status/1360114881978982403" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweet</a>.&nbsp;



Nur Khalil applied, but never expected that out of the 7,000 applicants, he would be chosen, he told Blockworks.&nbsp;



But he was picked, alongside three other candidates: Carla Kirk-Cohen, Obi Nwosu and Ojoma Ochai. All of the board members are in Nigeria, with the exception of Kirk-Cohen who is based in South Africa.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1002" height="370" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/FGq-jSiXMAIOSFF.jpg" alt="₿trust Board Members Source: Jack Dorsey's Twitter" class="wp-image-13173" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/FGq-jSiXMAIOSFF.jpg?w=1002 1002w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/FGq-jSiXMAIOSFF.jpg?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/FGq-jSiXMAIOSFF.jpg?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/FGq-jSiXMAIOSFF.jpg?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/FGq-jSiXMAIOSFF.jpg?w=470 470w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/FGq-jSiXMAIOSFF.jpg?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/FGq-jSiXMAIOSFF.jpg?w=80 80w" sizes="(max-width: 1002px) 100vw, 1002px" /><figcaption>₿trust Board Members Source: Jack Dorsey&#8217;s Twitter</figcaption></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Getting down to business</h3>



Now, it’s time for the four of them to get down to business. The endowment’s mission is to “make bitcoin the internet’s currency,” Nur Khalil said the fund will also center on transparency and openness.&nbsp;



“It’s very, very important for us to keep it as transparent as possible,” he said. “We&#8217;ll be communicating a lot about the process, our thinking and the things we&#8217;re going to be doing going ahead primarily through Twitter,” he added. The board has a Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/btrustteam" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">page</a> with no tweets at the time of publication. It will post announcements there as they transpire, he said.&nbsp;



The 500 bitcoin is currently worth about $25.7 million, based on bitcoin’s <a href="https://www.google.com/finance/quote/BTC-USD?sa=X&amp;sqi=2&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiqipCTzoT1AhUUZt4KHT4oCWkQ-fUHegQIDBAS" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">price</a> of $51,443 as of Dec. 27, 2021. While the board would like to deploy all its capital investments in bitcoin, it could be converted to local currencies if the organizations won’t accept the digital currency, Nur Khalil noted.&nbsp;



“We&#8217;re looking at starting with Africa initially, but then gradually expanding into other regions in the global South,” Nur Khalil said. “So that&#8217;s places like India as well. And then in general, with regards to the overall vision, we feel there’s so many disparities in some of these regions like Africa in terms of the actual amount of talented developers versus those of them that are actually working on Bitcoin,” he added.&nbsp;



However, the fund wants to change that and bring developers into the space. Nur Khalil said the board members want to further Bitcoin development efforts and grow the ecosystem at large through supporting entrepreneurs and educational initiatives.



“There still needs to be focus on other projects that are kind of on the periphery, on the heel of the ecosystem,” like crypto wallets or exchanges, he said.&nbsp;



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">“​​What we&#8217;re trying to optimize for is trying to do things gradually because there’s a lot and we won’t just look at the ecosystem and just throw a bunch of money on it. We still have to be meticulous on what the impact is, what the outcome we’re looking for and then look at ways that make it easy for us to address those things going forward.”</blockquote>



There isn’t a fixed timeline or specific date that the capital will be deployed, but it will begin during 2022, Nur Khalil said.&nbsp;



“There’s a really large talent pool [of developers] in Africa and a lot of it is translated into the wider ecosystem around it,” Nur Khalil said. “Shifting focus into building products that are geared towards more Bitcoin-related things, I think will have a huge net positive, or net benefit, or net gain both locally and globally,” he said.&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">A pivotal role</h3>



Even though the fund is new, crypto businesses and entrepreneurs shared an interest to donate or contribute to the fund. When the fund was first announced, Justin Sun, founder of cryptocurrency platform TRON <a href="https://twitter.com/justinsuntron/status/1360202930217881603" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a>, “I am happy to support and donate to ₿trust to fund #Bitcoin development. Africa &amp; India is my top priority!” The CEO of Binance Changpeng Zhao also <a href="https://twitter.com/cz_binance/status/1360120456926269440?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a> that he would be “happy to make a donation.”



Although the fund isn’t partnering with companies right now, that could be up for discussion later on as ₿trust will have to engage with a lot of stakeholders, from local groups or projects in Africa to global crypto corporations, Nur Khalil said.&nbsp;



“Eventually this will probably run out obviously since it’s 500 bitcoin and there’s a lot to do given the scope is to gradually expand it into other global South regions like India,” he said. “So we would likely be finding ways to replenish that supply,” he added.&nbsp;



As the new year is around the corner, Nur Khalil believes Africa will play a pivotal role in furthering Bitcoin development, while simultaneously launching the continent into the forefront of the monetary revolution.&nbsp;



“The possibilities are endless at this stage,” he said. “A lot of things are going to come on. A lot of these things will start materializing come next year.”



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



Get the day’s top crypto news and insights delivered to your inbox every evening.&nbsp;<a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/newsletter/?source=end" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Subscribe to Blockworks’ free newsletter</a>&nbsp;now.



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>

Jack Dorsey and Jay-Z Created ₿trust; Here’s How its Board Plans to Deploy the 500 Bitcoins

<div id="highlights-block_615edee6cebe5" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Cameroon-based financial services platform Ejara has raised a seed round of $2 million led by Coinshares Ventures and Anthemis Group to help African people protect their money</li>
 <li>Easy Crypto’s funding will be used to expand into new customer markets in Southeast Asia and other Southern Hemisphere countries that have a need for products and services, she added. Janine Grainger, co-founder and CEO of the company told Blockworks</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Cameroon-based Ejara raises $2M&nbsp;</h3>



Cameroon Financial services platform <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHXEr13fdXQ">Ejara</a> has raised a seed round of $2 million led by Coinshares Ventures and Anthemis Group, the company said Thursday.&nbsp;



Other investors include Mercy Corps Ventures, Lateral Capital, LoftyInc Capital Management and NetX Fund, and a group of angel investors including CEO of Ledger Pascal Gauthier, Blockworks Co-founder Jason Yanowitz, and AngelList’s Socially Financed Fund.



“By 2030, Africa will represent one of the world’s largest economic regions, and despite having nearly 25% of the continent’s population, Francophone African startups have attracted less than 1% of the venture capital in the African tech scene,” Meltem Demirors, chief strategy officer at CoinShares said in a statement.&nbsp;



The company was founded in 2020 and is based in Francophone-Africa, specifically Cameroon, and tailors its platform for African markets. The name “Ejara” derives from Bambara dialect and means “lion,” which coincides with their mission to put the power in people’s hands, the company said.&nbsp;



The funding will be used toward expansion and growth strategies, Nelly Chatue-Diop, founder of <a href="https://www.ejara.io/">Ejara</a> said to Blockworks in an interview. Since its launch, the platform has grown 25% month over month for its user base and increased transaction volume by 35% during the same period, Chatue-Diop added.&nbsp;



“We want to expand as quickly as possible,” Chatue-Diop said. “We started with crypto but aim to add stocks and fractionalized stocks, commodities and bonds and US foreign ones. So we can grow quickly, we need more tech, growth and focus on support,” she said.&nbsp;



Ejara started out in Cameroon, but has diversified across the Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea, and Senegal as well as the Francophone diaspora in Europe &amp; North America through its partnership with Moonpay, the company said.&nbsp;



The mission is all about protecting the African people’s money, Chatue-Diop said.&nbsp;



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">“It’s about protecting their wealth, diversifying their savings and growing their wealth. Historically, when you have savings in Africa, where do you invest? Banks give you 1% maybe, but you&#8217;re at the mercy of them closing and going away with your money,” she added.&nbsp;</blockquote>



A lot of Africans invest in real estate as a way to store their wealth, but when someone needs to abandon their homes and fly quickly out of their zone, they can’t take their real estate with them, Chatue-Diop noted. But, with platforms like Ejara, people can take their bitcoin and digital assets anywhere, she said.&nbsp;



“We are at the mercy of inflation, but diversifying into bitcoin and other assets will protect people against the debasement of their currency,” Chatue-Diop said.&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Easy Crypto raises $12M to expand into Southern Hemisphere</h3>



New Zealand-based Easy Crypto closed its $12 million Series A round led by Nuance Connected Capital, the company announced Wednesday.



The lead investor in this round is sovereign-backed, meaning that the New Zealand government supports and funds Nuance Connected Capital and in turn, is indirectly supporting the crypto ecosystem, Janine Grainger, co-founder and CEO of Easy Crypto said in an interview with Blockworks. This was the company’s first fundraise and prior to this Series A, Easy Crypto was fully bootstrapped, she added.



The round was oversubscribed by fifty percent and includes investment from others, including a pension provider Pathfinder and Indonesia-based GDP Venture. Additionally, US-based Hutt Capital, Icehouse Ventures, Even Capital and Seven Peaks Ventures also participated in the round.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="946" height="635" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/2021-10-07-Easy-Crypto-co-founders-Janine-and-Alan-Grainger.png" alt="" class="wp-image-9068" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/2021-10-07-Easy-Crypto-co-founders-Janine-and-Alan-Grainger.png?w=946 946w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/2021-10-07-Easy-Crypto-co-founders-Janine-and-Alan-Grainger.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/2021-10-07-Easy-Crypto-co-founders-Janine-and-Alan-Grainger.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/2021-10-07-Easy-Crypto-co-founders-Janine-and-Alan-Grainger.png?w=383 383w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/2021-10-07-Easy-Crypto-co-founders-Janine-and-Alan-Grainger.png?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/2021-10-07-Easy-Crypto-co-founders-Janine-and-Alan-Grainger.png?w=326 326w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/2021-10-07-Easy-Crypto-co-founders-Janine-and-Alan-Grainger.png?w=80 80w" sizes="(max-width: 946px) 100vw, 946px" /><figcaption>Easy Crypto co-founders Janine and Alan Grainger</figcaption></figure>



Easy Crypto is a retail platform founded three years ago by siblings Janine and Alan Grainger. The platform provides customers the ability to trade over 150 cryptocurrencies and has recorded over $750 million in sales and has multiplied its users over five times in the past year, the company said.&nbsp;



Currently, it is available in New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Brazil, Grainger said. But the funding will be used to expand into new customer markets in Southeast Asia and other Southern Hemisphere countries that have a need for products and services, she added.

Cameroon’s Ejara Closes $2M Seed Round, New Zealand’s Easy Crypto Raises $12M

<div id="highlights-block_60e72523e8fb7" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li> At only 19, Wald was able to get a first hand look at how fintech changes communities when she started with the World Bank</li>
 <li>After learning about GBTC, Wald and her partner were determined to build a better, institutional version that traded at net asset value</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Like everyone else in the world, Valkyrie CEO Leah Wald wishes she had entered the crypto space sooner.&nbsp;



“I didn’t work in bitcoin way back then,” she said. “But, from my other experiences, I was able to see what it could do for the world.”&nbsp;



Wald started at the World Bank while she was still in college studying international political economics.&nbsp;



“When I was 19, I was working at the World Bank, I was very lucky,” said Wald. “I was working in the vice president of the Africa region’s office and at the time, some of the colleagues in the office were working on something called M-Pesa.”&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Africa’s first digital currency</h3>



M-Pesa (‘M’ stands for ‘mobile’ and ‘pesa’ means money in Swahili) <a href="https://fintechmagazine.com/digital-payments/fintech-profile-m-pesa-africas-top-financing-service" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">is a mobile phone-based transfer</a>, payment and micro-financing system that was designed to expand banking opportunities to rural regions. It was launched in 2007 in Kenya and by 2010, when Wald was with the World Bank, M-Pesa was the greatest SMS-based financing system in the developing world.&nbsp;



“It was really the first time that I saw how well microfinance and a permissionless system could work,” Wald said. “So when I learned about bitcoin, to be honest, the value proposition didn&#8217;t seem extraordinary, it seemed very natural and made complete sense,”&nbsp;



Later, when Wald started learning about digital assets, her experience with M-Pesa helped her to imagine how digital assets could change the world.&nbsp;



“Bridging that gap in international development with communities that don&#8217;t have access to the traditional banking systems and are either unbanked or left out or opted out from all traditional financial vehicles, that use case for bitcoin has always resonated with me,” said Wald.&nbsp;&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Leah Wald&#8217;s journey from M-Pesa to building a Better GBTC&nbsp;</h3>



Wald was at Thanksgiving dinner with her friends and family when she started talking to Tyler Jenks, former president and CIO of Lucid Investment Strategies, about bitcoin. He was very active in bitcoin, Wald said, and the two started talking about the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust.&nbsp;



“The thing is, that was only Bitcoin security at the time,” Wald said, but she wanted in. Wald started working in bitcoin asset management full-time in 2017.&nbsp;



“Tyler and I wanted to make Lucid into the top specialized Asset Management shop in investing in GBTC,” said Wald. “I built that up with Tyler and really expanded lucid investment strategies. We co-authored the Hyperwave book and had a really fun run at it.”



Jenks passed away while the two were writing the book, Hyperwave Theory: The Rogue Waves of Financial Markets. Wald wound down their operations at Lucid, but she wasn’t ready to throw in the towel when it came to digital asset securities.&nbsp;



Wald met Steven McClurg, a former managing director at Guggenheim Partners, at a Satoshi Roundtable in February 2020. McClurg had just left Guggenheim.&nbsp;



“I was talking about how GBTC was very frustrating to me as an asset manager because of the premiums, It was not a good investment buy as a fiduciary,” Wald said. “Steven was talking about how he&#8217;s an expert in being able to structure esoteric products, so logically, we came together.”&nbsp;



McClurg and Wald launched Valkyrie shortly after.&nbsp;



“The original premise was actually that we would build a better GBTC that traded at net asset value, and that it would be an institutional product that institutions could do a HODL play, but a very transparent, democratic and high quality product,” said Wald.&nbsp;



Valkyrie raised its seed investment round and launched their first bitcoin trust product. It was looking like GBTC might start trading at a discount, which it eventually did, so Wald and McClurg decided it was the perfect time to file for an <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/wall-street-veterans-vie-for-sec-approval-of-new-bitcoin-etf/">exchange-traded fund</a>, which they did in January.&nbsp;



“I don&#8217;t think we fully expected the momentum with applications right after ours,” Wald said, referring to the slew of firms that have vied for securities and exchange commission approval since then. “But we definitely picked the right timing, I should say, for our hedge strategy.”



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Waiting on the SEC</h3>



Valkyrie has since filed for other digital assets ETFs and launched two additional trusts focusing on Polkadot and Algorland. Earlier this year, the SEC announced that it will be delaying its crypto ETF decision in order to gather more information.&nbsp;



“I think that SEC chair Gensler has made it known that he&#8217;s quite keen on cleaning up exchanges and that he sees many tokens as unregulated unregistered securities,” said Wald. “I don&#8217;t disagree, potentially, with the importance of going after those actors right now. But unfortunately, I do think that that is coming higher on the agenda for the SEC, and it&#8217;s kind of kicking back the spot ETF.”&nbsp;



The SEC seems to be more comfortable with a bitcoin futures ETF, Wald pointed out, so that is a fund that may receive approval sooner. She isn’t holding her breath for a spot bitcoin ETF anytime soon, she said.&nbsp;



To Wald, the issue with hesitancy when it comes to digital assets, whether from SEC officials or retail traders, lies with a lack of understanding.&nbsp;



“I do think that if more genuine participants in the ecosystem participate with education and guidance and start to engage on an educational level with DC, I think that that will be very promotional and very helpful,” she said. “I really hope that we see more of that, because there are such brilliant content creators in bitcoin, but it&#8217;s not always particularly geared towards regulators.”&nbsp;