The vast swathes of Africa’s fertile lands may ultimately prove a central arena for the ground-up development of innovative digital infrastructure and green energy projects. Recent pivotal moments in African trade, such as the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, are setting the table for an environment conducive to rapid growth, where both energy and financial infrastructure are a primary focus. Africa’s untapped economic potential is no secret. The continent’s population has soared past more than 1.3 billion, which accounts for roughly 17% of the world’s population and is mostly comprised of young people, with two-thirds of the population below the …

Last month, the value of Bitcoin (BTC) nosedived to around the $6,500 mark after having stayed above the $8,000 threshold for a considerable period before that. This downturn showcased Bitcoin’s worst market performance over the past seven months — with the flagship crypto asset’s last stoop below the $6,500 mark occurring in May. However, even with this aforementioned reversal in BTC’s fortunes, data available on Google Trends suggests that global interest in the premier cryptocurrency seems to increase every time the asset witnesses sudden price movements — positive or negative. Also, it bears mentioning that last month, the term “Bitcoin” …

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) — the country’s central bank — is purportedly going to impose new regulations for the use of digital currencies in a bid to deter users from evading currency controls. As local business-focused publication Business Report reported on Dec. 2, SARB’s deputy governor, Kuben Naidoo, said that the new rules will be implemented in the first quarter of 2020, following a five-year-long series of consultations on the matter. Naidoo’s statements followed a decision of FirstRand Bank — one of the largest financial institutions in South Africa — to discontinue providing banking services to digital currency …

How can I find information on what’s next for Africa? Specialist publications, such as Cointelegraph, can help, as well as conferences focused on digital currencies and blockchain. The Crypto Finance Conference is one such event, which is taking place in St. Moritz, Switzerland, from Jan. 15 to 17, 2020. Organizers say that speakers are going to offer compelling insights into what lies ahead, as well as offer the time to answer questions from attendees. Already, the program is full of sessions that will be of deep interest to anyone who is following Africa’s exciting journey. There will be tales from …

Bitcoin (BTC) exchanges in South Africa will lose their banking support after a local bank confirmed it was closing their accounts. As local internet magazine My Broadband reported on Nov. 19, FirstRand Bank (FNB) — one of the largest financial institutions in South Africa — sent letters regarding the move to an unspecified number of “major exchanges,” including Luno, ICE3X and VALR. Exchanges blocked due to “risk appetite” Exchanges affected have until the end of March 2020 to make alternative arrangements, Luno Africa general manager Marius Reitz told the publication. The letter from FNB reportedly blames regulatory uncertainty for the …

According to one official in attendance, members of international association BRICS discussed the creation of a new cryptocurrency at a recent summit. On Nov. 14, Russian financial news outlet RBC reported that the director-general of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev said that the BRICS Business Council supported the idea of creating a single payment system for settlements between the member countries at the 11th annual BRICS Summit in 2019, held in Brazil. Creating a “BRICS” cryptocurrency? The member nations — namely, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — are reportedly planning to develop a single payment …

Authorities in Johannesburg are holding firm in their refusal to pay a ransom of 4 Bitcoin to hackers who targeted municipal systems last week. In a statement posted to its official Twitter handle on Oct. 28, the Johannesburg city council confirmed the attack had affected services that included billing, property valuation and land information systems, as well as its eHealth and Libraries services. The breach, which occurred on Oct. 24, was accompanied by a ransom demand of 4 Bitcoin (BTC) — worth close to $37,000 to press time — payable by Oct. 28. Council calls breach “an attack” on Joburgers …

Hackers have compromised the website of the city of Johannesburg, South Africa, and demanded ransom in Bitcoins (BTC). The city announced the hack on its official Twitter account on Oct. 25. The city wrote that it had “detected a network breach which resulted in unauthorised access to its information systems.” As a result, the breach affected several customer-facing systems — hardware or software customers interact with directly, such as user interfaces and help desks. The breach has frozen those operations. The ransom and investigation Following the attack, cybercriminals calling themselves Shadow Kill Hackers demanded ransom worth 4 BTC, as local …

Major South African crypto exchange Luno has continued growing — processing crypto worth more than $5 million a day in August 2019. Marius Reitz, general manager for Africa at Luno, claimed crypto exceeding more than 80 million South African rand ($5.4 million) was processed on Luno’s South African platform on a daily basis in the past month, local tech publication TechFinancials reported on Sept. 10. Three million wallets milestone Reitz reportedly added that South Africa is one of Luno’s strongest markets, amid a rising appetite for crypto trading in the country. Luno has also seen a significant surge of new …

An angry mob in Ladysmith, South Africa has reportedly torched the residence of Sphelele Mbatha, known as Sgumza, a manager of alleged crypto Ponzi scheme Bitcoin Wallet. The mob was likely a collection of victims who lost money through Bitcoin Wallet, according to a report by local newspaper Ladysmith Gazette on July 10. The local police have been investigating an unnamed Ponzi Scheme in Ladysmith, as reported by major South African news site IOL. According to the report, however, Bitcoin Wallet minimally appears to have made get-rich-quick promises to prospective investors. An unnamed community member reportedly told the publication that …

Bitcoin traders in Zimbabwe and South Africa are seeing skyrocketing premiums on their bitcoin (BTC), according to a report from financial news outlet Fxstreet on July 2. Amid new capital controls in South Africa and Zimbabwe’s recent ban on local trading in foreign fiat currencies, local traders have reportedly seen asking prices of as high as $50,000 per 1 BTC if they attempt to purchase the coin from abroad. At press time, bitcoin is trading above $10,915 on South African crypto exchange Luno, according to CoinMarketCap data — 10.5% above its price point on Cointelegraph’s bitcoin price index. Meanwhile, other …

South Africa’s Standard Bank will soon launch its private permissioned blockchain for overseas exchange trades on behalf of corporate clients, fintech news outlet FinExtra reports Thursday, Feb. 28. The platform, which is set to go live in the second half of 2019, is based on the Hyperledger Fabric — a foundation for developing applications or solutions for enterprise with a modular architecture. The South African bank is also planning to connect its foreign currency trading app, Shyft, to the blockchain platform. The blockchain-driven system is expected to speed up the processing of international trades, foreign exchange payments and settlement. In …