GM GM!
From merchant payments to tokenised stocks and a little hydropower drama, Africa stayed busy. Here’s what actually moved last week.
1) Real-world rails moved
- Pay with crypto at 31k+ merchants in South Africa. Binance Pay plugged into Zapper, the POS/QR network used at supermarkets, restaurants, and fuel stations in the country. Real use case — everyday spend, not just trading. (Fintech News Africa)
- Nigeria gets tokenised U.S. stocks in-app. Luno rolled out access to ~60 tokenised stocks/ETFs (via xStocks by Kraken + Backed Finance) available from ₦100. A clear local on-ramp to RWAs. (TechCabal)
- Altvest plans rebrand to Africa Bitcoin Corp. Johannesburg’s Altvest Capital unveiled a $210m plan to acquire BTC as a listed treasury play. This will provide regulated exposure via equity for funds that can’t directly hold Bitcoin. (CoinDesk)
Why it matters: merchant acceptance + tokenised assets = more formal rails. Expect tighter spreads, clearer fees, and better compliance UX.
2) Ethiopia watch: power, mining… and signals
- Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) switched on last Tuesday, making headlines and promising surplus power; commentary immediately tied it to energy-hungry industries (yes, including mining). (Reuters)
- Bitdeer disclosed a 50MW Ethiopia project in its latest ops update (signed SPA + turnkey). That’s real capex, even as the utility has floated phase-outs to protect the grid. (Bitdeer)
On the ground note: Ethiopia was a recurring theme at Tech Safari (more on this below). Given the energy story + ecosystem attention, we’re definitely keeping Ethiopia on our short list for follow-ups.
3) Events: builders are out in the open
- ETHSafari (Sept 7–14) ran Nairobi → Kilifi all week: hack, ship, beach-side convos. Good partner mix; lots of dev energy. (ethsafari.xyz)
- Tech Safari Summit (Thur): crypto finally on the main stage; Binance’s legal head for Africa was on a panel on general regulation. The last panel was purely dedicated to crypto and people who never talk about crypto are now chiming in. This was mostly thanks to Binance sponsoring. I am all about people putting their money where their mouth is quite literally. (techsafarisummit.com)
4) Regulation & consumer protection pulse
- Nigeria: the EFCC keeps warning about unlicensed operators and urges industry education/AML cooperation. (bitcoinke.io)
Market Watch: Price & Flows (5:30 PM EAT, Sept 16)
- Bitcoin (BTC): ~$115,018: holding firm in the $114.5K–$116K range today. Momentum is still slightly positive as traders seem comfortable around current levels.
- Ethereum (ETH): ~$4,439: took a small dip, down ~2% intraday. Fluctuations around $4,400 are looking like a testing ground; strong if it holds.
We keep moving. See you next week!
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