Blockchain.com is stepping up its presence in Africa, focusing on markets the place governments are starting to implement formal crypto laws.
The UK-based alternate plans to open a bodily workplace in Nigeria through the second quarter of 2025 — its “fastest-growing market” in West Africa — amid broader enlargement efforts in Ghana, Kenya and South Africa, according to a Might 27 report by Bloomberg.
“Nigeria has taken significant steps towards creating a transparent framework for crypto,” Owenize Odia, Blockchain.com’s normal supervisor for Africa, reportedly stated.
The transfer comes as world sentiment shifts, together with political tailwinds from the US, the place President Donald Trump’s pro-crypto stance has inspired trade enlargement.
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Nigeria and Ghana lead in crypto regulation
Whereas cryptocurrency buying and selling stays restricted in lots of African nations, some, together with Nigeria and Ghana, are taking steps towards creating authorized frameworks for exchanges.
Odia stated the corporate is prioritizing a license software in Nigeria, which lately enacted a brand new securities legislation protecting digital property.
Ghana’s central financial institution launched draft pointers indicating plans to start regulating crypto platforms by September 2025, whereas Kenya remains to be within the analysis section.
Odia added that such alerts of regulatory intent are key to Blockchain.com’s enlargement selections throughout the continent. The alternate sees the area’s youthful inhabitants and foreign money instability as elements fueling crypto adoption.
Cointelegraph reached out to Blockchain.com for remark however didn’t obtain a response by publication.
Blockchain.com claims 37 million verified customers, 92 million wallets and over $1 trillion in transaction quantity, according to its web site.
In 2022, Blockchain.com closed a funding round that saw its valuation spike from $5.2 billion to $14 billion lower than two months earlier than the collapse of Do Kwon’s Terra ecosystem.
Nevertheless, a $110 million Collection E financing round in 2023 more than halved its 2022 valuation
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South Africa leads in crypto race
South Africa is rising as a frontrunner in Africa’s crypto race, with the nation positioning itself as a regional hub for digital property.
In keeping with Ben Caselin, chief advertising officer at Johannesburg-based crypto alternate VALR, South Africa’s sturdy authorized infrastructure and business-friendly atmosphere make it an ideal launchpad for crypto companies trying to develop throughout the continent.
In a September 2024 interview with Cointelegraph, Caselin emphasised that regulatory readability is a significant component drawing each native and worldwide gamers to South Africa.
Momentum continues to construct, with the Monetary Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) approving 59 crypto platform licenses by March 2024, as over 260 purposes stay beneath assessment.
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