#25: Crypto trading exchanges (African WealthTech Pt 3) - How cryptocurrency platforms are providing decentralized financial services across Africa

Overview: Today we’re going to discuss cryptocurrency trading in Africa. We start with the global context of cryptocurrency, review crypto trading exchanges in Africa & end with our overall outlook. This episode was recorded on Mar 21, 2021. Companies discussed: Coinbase, BitPesa, Xend, BuyCoins, eToro, Luno, Paxful, Quidax & Coinmama Business concepts discussed: Asset allocation strategy, decentralized networks, cryptocurrency innovation, Fintech customer acquisition strategy, investment regulation & open-source decentralization Conversation highlights: (01:30) - Why we’re talking about Cryptocurrency in Africa (03:20) - Background and context: Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin and Altcoins (12:20) - Potential downsides of cryptocurrencies; Stablecoins background (22:40) - Rise of cryptocurrency in Africa (28:52) - Use cases for cryptocurrency in Africa (36:15) - Africa’s regulatory environment for cryptocurrency (40:30) - Crypto startups in West Africa (49:36) - Crypto startups in Southern Africa (55:20) - Crypto startups in East Africa (59:59) - Crypto startups in North Africa (1:07:44) - Bankole's overall outlook (1:18:03) - Olumide’s overall outlook (1:27:50) - Recommendations and small wins Olumide’s recommendations, small wins & open questions: Recommendation: Sam Altman's Stanford course: "How to Start a Startup": 20 videos about startup life from 2014. Fabulous. Small win: Getting into the routine of chatting with friends on video call weekends. A lot of fun Other content: ARK Invest Bitcoin white paper Part 2 (from 2020-Sep) & Stablecoins explanation (by 99Bitcoins) Open question: How should African govt regulate cryptocurrency trading? Bankole’s recommendations, small wins & open questions: Recommendations: Why Ghana will no longer sell cocoa to Switzerland - Face2Face Africa & Okay by Adekunle Gold - YouTube Small win: Chelsea FC - unbeaten in 14, only conceded 2 goals. Other content: Why Crypto is coming out of the shadows - Morgan Stanley & Africa crypto landscape - StartupList Africa Open question: How can cryptocurrency drive financial inclusion? We’d love to hear from you. Please email [email protected] to share feedback or propose topics you’d like to hear. Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes at Afrobility.com