In our weekly Crypto Africa Roundup, YouHash take a look at the latest stories unfolding in one of the fastest-growing crypto continents.
Despite Being Banned, Desperate Zimbabweans Are Paying for Services with Bitcoin
Famous for an inflation rate that peaked at over 230 million percent (yes, that’s not a typo) in 2009 which resulted in the country giving up on its own currency, Zimbabwe has now banned the only two crypto exchanges in the country, Golix and Styx24.
But resourceful Zimbabweans won’t be stopped. With a severe cash crisis as well as a foreign exchange strangling the economy, more and more Zimbabweans are paying for services ranging from property rentals to satellite TV subscriptions using Bitcoin.
Conservationist Uses Bitcoin Cash to Save African Wild Dog
Nadja Leroux uses all her effort and passion to try save the African Wild Dog population in Namibia. And in order to garner support from people around the world, she now accepts Bitcoin Cash (BCH).
With modest fund raising objectives of just over USD 1,600, Leroux aims to use funds raised to purchase an iPad in order to build data and analyse the local wild dog population.
Her use of BCH is interesting to say the least, especially given the Namibian government’s aversion to all cryptocurrencies. In fact the government banned the use of cryptocurrencies for commercial purposes in 2017.
Blockchain Based SPENN Mobile App Makes Buying Airtime Simple
Rwandans can now use a newly developed app called SPENN to open a bank account, send and receive money within the network, and purchase airtime. One can even purchase airtime for a third party. And best of all for Rwandan consumers, this is achieved without them paying any transaction fees.
The SPENN mobile banking platform was developed through a partnership between I&M Bank of Rwanda and Blockbonds, a company committed to “creat(ing) a world where everyone can manage their savings, payments, and investments in an honest, transparent, and transparent and secure way.”
Blockchain Startup Receives $75,000 From ConsenSys to Build Blockchain Development Board
Hot on the heels of winning first place at the EthDenver Hackathon, and following this with a seed investment of $250,000 led by Angel Capital, Egyptian blockchain startup Elkrem managed to secure $75,00 in capital from ConsenSys to launch their smart kit for creating blockchain IoT devices globally.
The Elkrem (‘Merkle’ spelled backwards) product is designed to simplify the process of integrating hardware and decentralized technologies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Swarm, IPFS, and Whisper, etc.
Blockchain Africa Conference 2019 Registration Open
Africa’s original and most significant blockchain event, the Blockchain Conference Africa 2019 to be held in late February and early March, opened for registration in September.
With previous speakers such Andreas Antonopoulos, Vinny Lingham, Stefan Thomas, and Marcus Swanepoel, Blockchain Africa promises to again attract international experts and thought leaders to the continent, as they have every year since 2015. Rand Merchant Bank has been confirmed as a Gold Sponsor for the 2019 conference.
The conference was conceived, organised and hosted by Bitcoin Events, a company founded by Sonya Kuhnel and Theo Sauls in 2014. In 2018 the conference was sold out well ahead of the event and interested parties are advised to book early.
