-
How an African startup built a bitcoin network while crypto’s reputation crumbled
When jobs in banking dried up after the global economic crash in 2008, Elizabeth Rossiello went to work in Africa at several microfinance operations, where she saw firsthand how Kenya’s recently launched M-Pesa mobile money service was transforming payments. Then, Rossiello heard that cryptocurrencies would be the next big thing. In 2013 she founded BitPesa, a digital foreign exchange and payments platform based in Nairobi.
- Categories
- Finance
- Tags
- cryptocurrency
-
Refugee charity turns to crypto with $1M donation from Ethereum’s founder and OmiseGo
The crypto industry is often criticized from the outline for creating wealth that exists only in digital form, is unstable and driven by greed. That’s why a new charity initiative from top figures inside the Ethereum community might make a few non-believers sit up for a moment.
- Categories
- Finance
-
Indonesia eyes fintech regulation to avoid ‘loan shark-like’ practices
The emergence of these peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms, offering loans ranging from as little as a few hundred dollars to several thousands, has so far been welcomed by Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s biggest economy where tens of millions of people have little or no access to bank credit.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Asia Pacific
-
Kenya is finally softening its stance on blockchain technology
Kenya has for years regarded blockchain technology and digital currencies with suspicion, comparing bitcoin to a “pyramid scheme,” and emphasizing that it had no legal footing.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- blockchain, cryptocurrency
-
Africa’s first bitcoin exchange targets 1 billion users
Luno, founded in South Africa in 2013, has plans to become one of the leading cryptocurrency traders in the world.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- cryptocurrency, fintech
-
To ethically mine crypto we need to use renewable energy
Blockchain technology and its most popular cryptocurrency, bitcoin, have been called of equal importance to the internet, capable of transforming businesses, government, and social interaction: the entire fabric of modern society.
- Categories
- Energy, Finance, Technology
-
More Bitcoin Regulation Likely In Emerging Markets
According to a report from Bloomberg, published at the end of last year, around 58% of the world’s cryptocurrency mining pools are located in China, followed by the US at 16%.
Even though significant financial institutions within China are forbidden from providing payment services for products denominated in bitcoin due to bitcoin regulation, other platforms have emerged to offer investors this service.- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Asia Pacific
- Tags
- cryptocurrency
-
India’s flourishing fintech sector is craving the finance minister’s attention
While the Narendra Modi government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have already laid down regulations for certain segments, such as peer-to-peer lending, others like cryptocurrencies and online lending startups are yet to be regulated. Such regulation may mean stricter compliance, but the management at these firms believe it will lend legitimacy to the industry, which is expected to be worth $2.4 billion by 2020. That, in turn, will help them grow faster.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- cryptocurrency, fintech, regulations