Africa is still lagging behind in terms of cryptocurrency trading volume, but the CEO of Binance said that there is a great opportunity for the launch of crypto on the continent.
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) stated that the cryptocurrency exchange is optimistic about the adoption of cryptocurrencies in Africa, although it lags behind other continents in terms of trading volume. He made this known in a recent interview with Tech Crunch.
When asked why he was optimistic about Africa, CZ said that the continent has a unique crypto potential. He explained:
“The African continent offers some unique opportunities for the introduction and development of cryptocurrencies, and therefore we have always been optimistic in Africa. Crypto solves the problems of cross-border payments and remittances (sending money within Africa and beyond), currency devaluation, etc. Many African countries have suffered from high unemployment rates, and crypto and blockchain have provided innovative employment opportunities for a young and brilliant continent. They bring Africans closer to financial freedom.“
Nigeria and Kenya, two of Africa’s largest economies and leading cryptocurrency nations, have been cracking down hard on crypto trading activities in recent months. In Nigeria, banks have stopped providing services to crypto exchanges, making it impossible for citizens to deposit and withdraw crypto funds using the Naira.
Citizens have turned their attention to peer-to-peer platforms such as Binance P2P, Paxful and LocalBitcoins. Nigeria remains one of the leading countries in the world in terms of cryptocurrency adoption.
CZ pointed out that Binance welcomes regulation in Africa and other parts of the world. He added that Binance is actively keeping up with the changing policies, rules and laws in this area. He insisted that Binance would support the regulators and find the optimal way to ensure fair competitive conditions for investors and innovators.
Binance has been checked for its functioning in different parts of the world. However, the crypto exchange has changed its operation massively in recent months in order to comply with the numerous regulatory requirements around the world.