There's been little progress punching through the resistance put up by the central banks. Thus the incredible levels of P2P trading (per-capita) in many countries on the continent.
This move by FTX may be under the pretense of being a "Web3" or "NFT" whatever (since who wants to block African artists from being able to sell their creations abroad?), but make no mistake -- this is about FTX leveraging the same mobile money rails that every other Fintech and "crypto" venture has resigned themselves to using.
Building an economy for creators with education and marketplaces (or whatever FTX and AZA had to agree to do) was simply the cost of doing business in order to get the OK to access the mobile money networks (of which, ... it's doubtful they really have any true guarantees).
The upside is that no matter the reason, as more and more people use and/or hold bitcoin (and yes, stablecoins, and other tokens / whatever), they will add pressure to their governments to lessen or eliminate the central bank's resistance to "cryptocurrencies". At the same time, a circular economy forms (as when you earn in bitcoin, you spend in bitcoin), disintermediating the central bank, regardless of their stance.
So, ... please just "hold your nose" on this one. It's very likely to end up becomign a net gain, more so than a net loss -- for the people, as well as for bitcoin.
FTX and AZA Finance also plan to launch African digital currency trading pairs.
AZA Finance, formerly BitPesa, was founded in Nairobi, Kenya and was established in 2013. The company is the latest African crypto and payments company to attract interest from FTX in the latter’s push to establish a footprint on the continent.
Given the emerging nature of the web3 space, regulatory clarity is still lacking in many jurisdictions in Africa. Commenting on the problems posed by this situation, Elizabeth Rossiello, founder and CEO of AZA Finance, told The Block that her company continues to work closely with state agencies on the continent.
“We have stringent controls and are licensed now by central banks and Financial Conduct Authorities on three continents. We are looking forward to partnering with FTX to further expand its presence in Africa. Our strategy is to work closely with all regulators to ensure that any work in the African market in this regard is fully compliant and in the best interest of African users,”
Offering cutting-edge FX, payments, and financial services, AZA Finance has expanded to 10 African markets to date, executing more than £200 billion in global transactions across 115+ countries and 300+ currency pairs. Last year, AZA Finance further expanded with its most recent acquisition of South African payments company Exchange4Free – making the company the largest non-bank provider of currency exchange in Africa.
Together the companies will work to expand Web3 in Africa in five key ways:
Connect African markets to the global Web3 economy by building vital infrastructure
Create pathways for African users to participate and learn about the Web3 economy including educational resources & networking opportunities
Make it easier than ever to deposit and pay out in African currencies on FTX.com, including mobile money and local bank account integrations
Launch African currency and digital currency trading pairs
Onboard African NFTs and artists to the FTX NFT marketplace
"As one of Africa’s first fintechs, operating for over 8 years with a team of more than 200 people from Dakar to Lagos to Kampala, we have the deepest knowledge on how to build a truly continental platform."
Who would have thought that the unscrupulous Web3 scammers are now also squeezing their victims in Africa.
Disgusting.
There's been little progress punching through the resistance put up by the central banks. Thus the incredible levels of P2P trading (per-capita) in many countries on the continent.
This move by FTX may be under the pretense of being a "Web3" or "NFT" whatever (since who wants to block African artists from being able to sell their creations abroad?), but make no mistake -- this is about FTX leveraging the same mobile money rails that every other Fintech and "crypto" venture has resigned themselves to using.
Building an economy for creators with education and marketplaces (or whatever FTX and AZA had to agree to do) was simply the cost of doing business in order to get the OK to access the mobile money networks (of which, ... it's doubtful they really have any true guarantees).
The upside is that no matter the reason, as more and more people use and/or hold bitcoin (and yes, stablecoins, and other tokens / whatever), they will add pressure to their governments to lessen or eliminate the central bank's resistance to "cryptocurrencies". At the same time, a circular economy forms (as when you earn in bitcoin, you spend in bitcoin), disintermediating the central bank, regardless of their stance.
So, ... please just "hold your nose" on this one. It's very likely to end up becomign a net gain, more so than a net loss -- for the people, as well as for bitcoin.
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Another article on the announcement:
FTX partners with African payments company AZA Finance to boost web3 adoption https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/137999/ftx-partners-with-african-payments-company-aza-finance-to-boost-web3-adoption https://archive.ph/snDYj <-- Archive of the article from The Block, which might be easier to read
Here's the Press Release:
FTX Announces Partnership With AZA Finance To Expand Web3 In Africa https://azafinance.com/aza-ftx-partnership
The video that accompanied the press release:
FTX Announces Partnership with AZA Finance to Expand Web3 in Africa https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dv4-7GJwncA
An article from Bloomberg:
Crypto Exchange FTX Partners With Kenya Firm to Expand in Africa https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-16/crypto-exchange-ftx-partners-with-kenya-firm-to-expand-in-africa https://archive.ph/z7tU9 <-- An archive, which may be easier to read
And an article from CoinDesk:
FTX Boosts Global Presence With AZA Finance Link in Africa https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/03/16/ftx-strengthens-global-presence-with-aza-finance-link-in-africa https://archive.ph/zMZnH <-- An archive, which may be easier to read
https://azafinance.com/foreign-exchange/
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