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EmergingCrypto.io Weekly Update June 5 – June 11
Africa
Celo Foundation, Mercy Corp Ventures, and Cinch Markets launch salary advance pilot (2 minute read)
The Celo Foundation has partnered with Mercy Corp Ventures and Cinch Markets in Kenya to launch a three-month salary advance pilot for farmers and landowners employed by Cinch. Mercy Corp Ventures is the VC arm of Mercy Corp and Cinch Markets is an agriculture company that leases farmland from smallholder farmers and hires farmers to grow high-value crops at scale. The pilot explores employer-based lending using Moola Market, a DeFi lending protocol built on the Celo blockchain, and Kotani Pay, an on/off ramp provider in Africa to offer (1) better interest rates, (2) faster loan delivery, and (3) reduce administrative overheard. Later in 2022 Mercy Corps Ventures and the Celo Foundation will release a comprehensive impact report to assess repayment rates and quality-of-life improvements.
Nigerians traded $185 million in Bitcoin on Paxful during Q1 2022 (2 minute read)
Between January and March 2022 Nigerians traded roughly $185 million worth of bitcoin on the peer-to-peer trading platform, Paxful. This accounted to over a quarter of the total BTC traded on the platform during the first quarter. Paxful reported that this was a 5.71% increase year-over-year, and the rise in trading volume comes on the heels of Nigeria’s Central Bank’s ban on Nigerian commercial banks from transacting in and with entities dealing in crypto assets.
Eastern Europe
BitRiver partners with Gazprom to mine Bitcoin with flare gas (2 minute read)
The world’s largest hosting provider for crypto mining, BitRiver, has struck a deal with Russian state-owned gas giant, Gazprom, to provide electricity to BitRiver’s data centers using flare gas. Typically burned off, flare gas has become an innovative power source for crypto mining operations around the world. As part of the partnership between the two Russian businesses, BitRiver plans to develop a digital infrastructure on Gazprom oil fields. Russia is the fifth largest bitcoin mining country as of January 2022 according to the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index.
Ukraine granted ‘Observer’ status in the European Blockchain Partnership (EBP) (2 minute read)
The European Blockchain Partnership (EBP), the European Union initiative to develop an EU-wide blockchain strategy and public services infrastructure, has granted Ukraine ‘Observer’ status. The Ukrainian government hopes this will lead to the implementation of blockchain technologies in the country and more efficient crypto regulations. ‘Observer’ status is a step towards full membership, and Ukraine has now become the third non-EU nation participating in the EBP.
Asia
Yahoo plans to organize events for Hong Kong residents in Decentraland (2 minute read)
Residents of Hong Kong, impacted by COVID pandemic restrictions inhibiting engagement in social activities, will soon be able to enjoy virtual events and concerts that Yahoo will be organizing in Decentraland. Head of Yahoo Hong Kong, Lorraine Cheung, wants to use the metaverse to connect people amidst COVID lockdowns. One of the virtual events will be a NFT exhibition called “The Abyss of Kwun Tong” where local artists will virtually recreate the historic neighborhood of Kwun Tong which has been affected by redevelopment.
Hong Kong’s Babel Finance joins list of firms halting withdrawals (1 minute read)
Global crypto market contagion has reached the shores of Hong Kong. Last week, Hong Kong-based asset manager, Babel Finance, announced that due to liquidity pressure they are suspending redemption and withdrawals of its products. Just last month, Babel Finance raised $40 million in a Series A funding round. The company now joins the ranks of other crypto firms that have halted withdrawals due to current market conditions.
Latin America
Another crypto exchange is entering Brazil: Argentina’s Lemon Cash (3 minute read)
One of Argentina’s leading crypto exchanges, Lemon Cash, plans to enter the increasingly competitive market of Brazil by the end of July. The company promises direct integration with Pix, Brazil’s instant payment platform managed by the country’s Central Bank, and will be able to covert Brazilian reais to users’ preferred cryptocurrency and vice versa. After Lemon Cash launches in Brazil the company also plans to offer a credit card that directly debits customers’ accounts, allowing cardholders to pay in any cryptocurrency that’s converted to reais at the time of payment.
Improving the fishing industry in Ecuador: a blockchain use case (5 minute read)
Rounding off this week’s newsletter, blockchain technology has been referenced as a use case and an option to improve processes in the fishing industry in Ecuador and worldwide. Blockchain-based software could provide mechanisms for product traceability as they move through supply chains, transferring information and interconnecting all the participants from the fishermen who caught the product, to distributors, processors, supermarkets, restaurants, and ultimately consumers. Product traceability may also provide a solution to prevent illegal fishing and human rights violations of fishermen. Another improvement would be digitization to reduce paper-based processes that are traditional to the fishing industry.
Thanks for reading! Have a great week ahead!
Written by Jon Lira. Connect with him on LinkedIn and Twitter.
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More emerging market blockchain and crypto news:
- Report: Kenyan and Nigerian Central Bankers Attack Cryptocurrencies but Endorse CBDCs
- Crypto Education Will Enable Nigerians Tap Into Opportunities In The Industry
- Nigeria to enable eNaira CBDC on feature phones for financial inclusion
- South Korean Government Calls for Voluntary Regulations From Crypto Industry
- NFT platforms in China grow 5X in four months despite government warnings
- Bill to ban digital assets as payment passed the first reading in the Russian parliament
- Russian bank Sber to complete its first digital currency deal
- President of Panama shoots down crypto bill citing FATF guidelines
- After suspending withdrawals in Brazil, Binance announces replacement of Capitual, which denies problems
- Celo and the Blockchain Academy Chile Incubator chose six projects
