Coinbase, a prominent cryptocurrency exchange, has announced a strategic partnership with Yellow Card, a leading African crypto platform, to expand the availability of its products across 20 African countries. This collaboration is particularly focused on enhancing access to the USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin.
In a statement released on January 11, Coinbase emphasized the significance of this partnership in advancing the future of money. The collaboration aims to provide millions of users with access to USDC and facilitate fast, reliable, and cost-effective transactions on Coinbase’s decentralized, open L2 Base, as well as through Yellow Card’s offerings.
Chris Maurice, CEO of Yellow Card, explained to Cointelegraph that the partnership entails integrating Yellow Card’s payment infrastructure in Africa. This integration will enable customers to seamlessly convert fiat currency to Bitcoin (BTC) and USDC on Ethereum’s layer-2 rollup, Base. African users will have access to these services via the Coinbase Wallet, which recently introduced a feature allowing transfers through links on social media platforms like iMessage, Telegram, WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram. The partnership will also extend to other cryptocurrencies and stablecoins supported by Coinbase.
Yellow Card operates in 20 African countries, including major economies like Nigeria, South Africa, Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, and Tanzania. Coinbase recognizes the potential impact of this partnership in regions characterized by high inflation and reliance on remittances. The collaboration is seen as a way to provide a more economically viable transaction method in these areas.
Coinbase also highlighted the youthful demographic of Africa, which is the youngest continent globally, and the need for economic opportunities in these markets. Maurice expressed confidence that the partnership would simplify commerce for many Africans and emphasized the practical benefits of stablecoins like USDC in addressing real challenges faced by individuals and businesses on the continent. He noted that common use cases in Africa include international payments, remittances, and protection against inflation.
Cryptocurrency adoption in Africa has been growing, with South Africa, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Kenya, and Ghana leading in Bitcoin adoption, according to BitcoinAfrica.io. The Central African Republic made headlines as the first African country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, although this move was quickly followed by the launch of its own crypto token project, Sango Coin.
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