Author: Opeloyeru Batly

Russia’s crypto expansion into Africa is no longer a rumour. A7, a ruble-linked cryptocurrency network launched in 2024, has announced offices in Nigeria and Zimbabwe, with recruitment underway in Togo. The move reflects Moscow’s broader shift toward alternative payment systems after its removal from SWIFT following the Ukraine conflict. But while the announcements are bold, A7’s actual presence on the ground remains uncertain, raising important questions for a region that processed over $205 billion in crypto value between mid-2024 and mid-2025. What A7 is and Who Controls it A7 is backed by sanctioned entities, including Russia’s Promsvyazbank and fugitive Moldovan…

South Africa’s crypto trading volume decline is one of the starkest in Africa. Once among the continent’s most active markets, exchanges like VALR and Luno processed close to 1,000 bitcoin per day at the 2021 peak. Today that figure sits at around 50, a 95 percent drop in spot trading over five years. According to Carel de Jager, CEO of Silver Sixpence, the shift reflects a structural change in how the market functions rather than a complete loss of interest. The Arbitrage Boom That Drove Volume At its peak, South Africa’s crypto activity was heavily driven by arbitrage opportunities. Bitcoin…

PowerGen Renewable Energy and Electrify.solar are piloting a blockchain-based financing model designed to unlock private capital for distributed energy projects across Africa. The initiative explores how digital verification systems can improve transparency in project funding, reduce investor uncertainty, and make smaller renewable energy projects more attractive to private capital. It comes at a time when Africa’s energy access gap remains significant, despite steady growth in decentralized solutions such as mini-grids and solar home systems. Financing, however, continues to limit large-scale deployment. Blockchain Brings Transparency to Energy Financing At the core of the pilot is a distributed ledger system that records…

Lagos-based fintech SurgePay has secured a six-figure award from the Stellar Community Fund (SCF). The SCF is an open-application grants program run by the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF), supporting teams building on the Stellar and Soroban blockchain networks. This places SurgePay among a select group of fintech and Web3 teams chosen from 85 global applicants. The award comes not as a lifeline for a concept, but as support for a platform already processing live transactions. For many Africans, this is less a story about fundraising and more a story about infrastructure finally catching up with the continent’s financial needs. The…

Fuze, one of the fastest-growing digital asset infrastructure providers in the Middle East and Africa, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Miden. Miden is a zero-knowledge-powered blockchain company backed by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and other investors. Together, the partners plan to build private, regulation-ready blockchain infrastructure for banks, fintechs, and enterprises in high-growth markets. WHAT THE PARTNERSHIP IS BUILT AROUND Fuze brings relationships across the Middle East and Africa. It connects with banks, fintechs, and enterprises that want regulated digital asset services. Miden brings a privacy-first blockchain architecture. Together, they plan to support regulated use cases, including payments, remittances,…

Binance is reportedly pursuing an out-of-court settlement with Nigerian authorities in an ongoing Binance Nigeria tax dispute. If reached, the agreement could signal a turning point in the company’s regulatory challenges in the country. The effort comes as crypto platforms in Nigeria face growing scrutiny. Regulators are increasingly focused on oversight, Binance Nigeria tax compliance, and accountability in a sector that continues to expand rapidly. A successful settlement could also help ease tensions while setting a tone for how major exchanges work with regulators across Africa. BINANCE MOVES TOWARD SETTLEMENT AS NIGERIA TIGHTENS CRYPTO OVERSIGHT Binance is exploring an out-of-court…

FirstRand Bank is using Kinexys Digital Payments, a private permissioned blockchain network operated by Kinexys with J.P. Morgan, to automate blockchain treasury payments in South Africa and to execute programmable USD transfers in near real time. The goal is to help FirstRand’s treasury team execute intragroup USD transfers without being constrained by traditional settlement windows. It does this by automatically triggering payment instructions when pre-defined conditions are met. In a region where liquidity timing and banking-hours constraints can still affect how quickly institutions move money, this “automate-when-ready” workflow is a practical sign that blockchain is moving from experimentation toward operational…

Luno has been awarded the 2025 Crypto Exchange of the Year, reinforcing its position as one of the most trusted platforms in the global digital asset space. The recognition comes at a time when crypto users are paying closer attention to security, compliance, and ease of use factors that continue to shape adoption across Africa and beyond. By consistently delivering in these areas, Luno stands out in an increasingly competitive market. As crypto adoption accelerates in key African markets such as Nigeria and South Africa, this milestone signals growing confidence in platforms that prioritise user protection and long-term value. WHAT…

For more than a decade, the central question for markets and builders has been crypto asset classification. On March 17, 2026, the SEC and CFTC issued a joint interpretive release that finally provides a clear taxonomy for crypto asset classification under U.S. federal law. Published in the Federal Register on March 23, 2026, the guidance took effect immediately. The five-category taxonomy for crypto asset classification The interpretation establishes five categories: digital commodities, digital collectibles, digital tools, stablecoins, and digital securities. Digital commodities, digital collectibles, and digital tools are classified as non-securities; tokenised securities remain securities on-chain. Payment stablecoins are treated…

PayPal PYUSD Africa expansion is underway. PayPal expanded its dollar‑backed stablecoin, PYUSD, to 70 markets worldwide, moving beyond its previous availability in the United States and the United Kingdom. Announced from San Jose on March 17, 2026, the rollout now includes users across Africa, South America, and Asia. What the rollout allows users to do What is PYUSD? PYUSD (PayPal USD) is a stablecoin issued by Paxos Trust Company and regulated by the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). Each PYUSD remains backed 1:1 by U.S. dollar deposits, short‑term Treasury securities, and cash‑equivalent instruments, so every token…