A team of academics at the University of Cape Town in South Africa is developing a blockchain-powered application that will allow users to verify their own COVID-19 status. The platform, named Covi-ID, is still under development but aims to address a number of pressing concerns around the global coronavirus pandemic. It’s being developed by a team of academics and software developers in Cape Town and is aiming to launch on April 21. The application intends to improve contact tracing of infected patients, while users of the platform will be able to provide a verified COVID-19 status. Additionally, the app will …

The Cardano Foundation praised the establishment of the South African National Blockchain Alliance (SANBA) on April 7. The cooperation endeavors to explore further ways to strengthen technology’s adoption throughout South Africa. According to the official announcement, Cardano Foundation praises the use of blockchain technology to boost socio-economic growth in South Africa. The Foundation believes such an establishment will help them to achieve their goal of increasing blockchain adoption across the region. South Africa as the key market for African blockchain awareness Cardano Foundation cites the South Africa market as pivotal to building a network across the country that is made …

With pundits like Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey predicting that Africa “will define” the future of Bitcoin (BTC), cryptocurrency and blockchain technology continue to attract interest from both public and private establishments across the continent. Many of these adoption cases have been moving beyond finance, developing solutions targeted at issues like unemployment, identity management, health care and supply chain, among others. Amid the growing enthusiasm for crypto and blockchain technology in Africa, industry stakeholders interviewed by Cointelegraph identify a lack of education as one of the major hurdles standing in the way of more broad-based utilization of the technology. The absence …

The South African National Blockchain Alliance carried out an online livestream launch while the country is in the midst of a 21-day lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. The organization was due to be launched at the beginning of April in Johannesburg but had to be taken online as South Africa and the world tackles a global health crisis. The launch happened during a livestream on YouTube on April 3, which included a panel of speakers elaborating on how SANBA will help nurture blockchain-focused startups and companies that are developing capabilities using the technology. Bringing parties together …

Cryptocurrencies have seemingly taken a backseat due to a concerted focus on blockchain technology in Africa, but there is still a growing interest and demand for trading on the continent. This was one of the main takeaways from the Blockchain Africa conference held in Johannesburg in the middle of March 2020. The Blockchain Africa conference, which is the biggest in the continent, has become heavily focused on the technology underpinning cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and far less so on the crypto trading space. It is a fact that was admitted by event MC Tanya Knowles, who recently became Binance South Africa’s …

The Blockchain Africa conference produced a swathe of optimism for Africa to become a driving force behind the development and use of new blockchain-powered technologies. Over the past few years, blockchain has replaced cryptocurrency as the “it” word in the fintech space. It is a fact that was mirrored by the Blockchain Africa conference itself, with speakers focusing more on the possibilities of blockchain answering a number of industry inefficiencies, and far less on cryptocurrency trading and tokenized solutions. Africa has its own unique challenges in the global space given that many of its countries are trailing behind the rest …

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, the country’s central bank, is considering a regulatory sandbox for crypto companies in an apparent change from its previous anti-cryptocurrency stance. The proposed sandbox is reportedly part of a broader agenda by authorities in Zimbabwe to revamp the nation’s financial sector, which has seen massive hyperinflation since 2007. Meanwhile, Zimbabwe’s government is also partnering with Apollo Fintech to develop a gold-backed cryptocurrency for the country. The collaboration is expected to allow Zimbabweans to have access to the Apollo wallet for digital-currency payments. Despite the government’s 2018 crypto ban, peer-to-peer trading of cryptocurrencies continues to thrive …

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has announced that the company will launch a fiat gateway for South African users, allowing them to make Rand deposits. The announcement was made on day one of the Blockchain Africa conference being held in Johannesburg this week. CZ confirmed that South African traders would soon be able to make Rand deposits on the platform through the Binance website. This is part of an ongoing push into Africa that started in Uganda in 2018: “Africa illustrates one of the largest demands and instrumental use cases for cryptocurrency, notably for financial access. According to the World Bank, …

Impressive use-cases of blockchain technology have come to the fore after the conclusion of the 2020 Blockchain Africa Conference in South Africa. The event went ahead as planned in early March despite the global coronavirus pandemic that has made headlines around the world. The viral outbreak led to keynote speaker Charles Hoskinson, founder of Cardano, cancelling his trip to South Africa due to travel restrictions. The event also suffered a drop-off in attendance due to fears around the virus, but there were still over 230 delegates present on day one while day two numbers dropped slightly. Renowned cryptocurrency investor and …

The South African Presidential Commision on the Fourth Industrial Revolution believes that blockchain technology and Artificial Intelligence could help reduce unemployment in the country. Commissioner Mpho Dagada told the Blockchain Africa Conference in Johannesburg this week that blockchain could bring important economic benefits. “We face two significant challenges in the country: reducing unemployment and increasing our Gross Domestic Product (GDP),” he said. “[The] Fourth Industrial Revolution policy creation can create economic growth in the country.” Dagada said that South Africa’s mining sector in particular could benefit from forward thinking solutions utilizing blockchain technology, in partnership with AI: “The South African …

The Blockchain Africa conference kicked off on Wednesday in Johannesburg, South Africa, despite rising concerns about the Coronavirus outbreak. South Africa’s first cases of COVID-19 were confirmed at the beginning of the month. As of March 11, thirteen South Africans have tested positive for the virus. Despite the relatively low infection rate in the country, the South African government has taken a proactive and cautious approach to the virus. They have based their considerations on the dire situation in countries like China and Italy. Nevertheless, the ongoing crisis and travel restrictions have led to some difficulties for Blockchain Africa’s attendees. …

Following the session that took place last August, a three-judge panel from India’s Supreme Court reconvened once again this week to discuss the much-hyped Crypto v. RBI case. During the last hearing, the Supreme Court had asked the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to clarify its position as to why exactly it enforced a nationwide banking ban on the country’s crypto market, as well as to discuss the seemingly unconstitutional nature of its aforementioned move. Ever since the RBI decided to go ahead and issue its controversial prohibition order, a number of public and industry-led petitions have been filed by …