Peer-to-peer Bitcoin (BTC) trading activity in the United States surged to a new all-time high during the week of June 7, according to data published by UsefulTulips. Over the past seven days, nearly $29 million worth of Bitcoin has changed hands for U.S. dollars on leading P2P marketplaces Localbitcoins and Paxful. The past week saw only North America and Middle Eastern/North African trade increase, with all other regions posting slight declines in seven-day volume. Over $24 million in Bitcoin changed hands on Paxful in the United States alongside $4.6 million traded on Localbitcoins. With roughly $1 million trading on Canada’s …

Crypto adoption is making significant advances in Africa, with crypto ownership, trade volume, and regulation all moving toward greater adoption. A recent report by Arcane Research and Luno found that Uganda, Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, and Kenya are frequently among the top 10 countries by Google searches for the word “Bitcoin.” The report describes the continent as “one of, if not the most promising region for the adoption of cryptocurrencies,” emphasizing Africa’s combination of low existing crypto adoption alongside an “enormous” domain possibility. The firms emphasize that Africa exhibits a young population, frequent monetary crises and currency failures, large unbanked …

A new report published by Arcane Research shows that African countries have some of the highest cryptocurrency ownership rates worldwide. South Africa ranked third throughout the world with 13% of its internet users owning or using cryptocurrencies. Nigeria took the fifth spot with 11% of internet users owning cryptocurrencies. The worldwide average for the same stands at 7%. Indeed, as Cointelegraph recently reported, Bitcoin (BTC) trading volume in Sub-Saharan Africa broke past records posted at the heights of 2017’s rally. Clear interest in crypto Arcane Research noted that Uganda, Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya and Ghana feature in the top-10 countries …

Social payments application Bundle launched its service in Nigeria after incubation by leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance. According to an announcement on April 23, Bundle now allows its users to request, send and receive cash or crypto from their peers in Nigeria. By the end of this year, the firm plans to expand to over 30 African countries and provide a simple fiat on and off-ramp for crypto in the continent. Bundle supports Binance Coin (BNB), Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) as well as the local fiat currency — the Nigerian naira — but there are plans to add more fiat …

Africa’s largest country has welcomed its first Bitcoin ATM. Blockstale BTM, the company that installed the ATM in the Dazey Lounge and Bar in Lagos state, plans to launch more than 30 more terminals across Nigeria. “Despite all the legal uncertainties about cryptocurrencies in Nigeria, Nigerians happen to be the highest crypto traders in Africa,” Blockstale’s chief executive and founder, Daniel Adekunle, told local media on April 1. Adekunle developed his Bitcoin ATMs in partnership with a tech firm based in Shenzhen, China. Nigeria welcomes Africa’s 15th Bitcoin ATM Despite being home to the largest trade volume in Africa, Nigeria …

Decentralized finance, more commonly known as DeFi, is quite complicated. Even the heads of DeFi companies seem unable to define the sector in a few sentences. So, here’s another attempt: DeFi is a financial ecosystem, in which it is possible to build tools, services and smart contracts and then bond them together on a blockchain, just like lego. It might not sound like fun, but it’s probably more useful. Lego might well be Denmark’s most famous export, but DeFi’s number one company, MakerDAO, is giving it a run for its money. Since the company was formed in 2015, it has …

As part of ongoing fiat-to-crypto expansion, major cryptocurrency Binance is adding support for the Nigerian Naira (NGN) on its peer-to-peer (P2P) platform. Binance P2P, a consumer-to-consumer business arm of Binance exchange, is rolling out support for the first African fiat currency on its platform. According to an announcement shared with Cointelegraph, Binance P2P users can trade major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) using NGN with zero transaction fees starting from March 4. Users in Nigeria can now post trade ads via P2P Merchants The NGN integration also allows users in Nigeria to directly purchase and sell cryptos like Bitcoin, Ether …

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” …

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 …

Nigerian crypto wallet Satowallet has allegedly pulled off a $1 million exit scam, while the firm cites an unexplained OVH data server error that has kept user funds in limbo. Multiple versions to delay withdrawals After users first reported withdrawal issues in April 2019, Satowallet has been citing different versions of events to account for their failure to withdraw over $1 million in crypto, according to a report by the Financial Times (FT) on Sept. 25. Following the first complaints, Satowallet reportedly cited technical reasons as the source of a temporary problem, which came amid the firm’s plans to launch …

Keith Mali Chung — the co-founder and president of African blockchain firm Loopblock Network — has returned almost $80,000 worth of Bitcoin (BTC) mistakenly sent to his wallet. Chung — who goes by the Twitter handle of “Bitcoin Keith (The African Bitcoin Bull)” — tweeted about the incident on Sept. 12: “I received huge sum of BTC from an unknown sender and it’s definitely a mistake from someone I must have had transaction with before, Kindly DM me time of transaction, your adress and exact digits sent.. thank you. Kindly retweet” The good Samaritan In a further update on Sept. …