Blockchain.com Expands in Africa, Opens Nigeria Workplace
Blockchain.com is stepping up its presence in Africa, concentrating on markets the place governments are starting to implement crypto rules.
The UK-based trade plans to open a bodily workplace throughout the second quarter in Nigeria — its “fastest-growing market” in West Africa — together with broader enlargement efforts in Ghana, Kenya and South Africa, in accordance with a Might 27 report by Bloomberg.
“Nigeria has taken significant steps towards creating a transparent framework for crypto,” Owenize Odia, Blockchain.com’s common supervisor for Africa, reportedly stated.
The transfer comes as world sentiment shifts, together with political tailwinds from the USA, the place President Donald Trump’s pro-crypto stance has inspired trade enlargement.
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Nigeria and Ghana lead in crypto regulation
Whereas cryptocurrency buying and selling stays restricted in lots of African international locations, some, together with Nigeria and Ghana, are taking steps towards creating authorized frameworks for exchanges.
Odia stated the corporate is prioritizing a license software in Nigeria, which just lately enacted a brand new securities regulation overlaying digital property.
Ghana’s central financial institution launched draft pointers indicating plans to start regulating crypto platforms by September 2025, whereas Kenya remains to be within the analysis section.
Odia added that such alerts of regulatory intent are key to Blockchain.com’s enlargement selections. The trade sees the area’s youthful inhabitants and forex instability as elements fueling crypto adoption.
Cointelegraph reached out to Blockchain.com for remark however didn’t obtain a response by publication.
Blockchain.com claims 37 million verified customers, 92 million wallets and over $1 trillion in transaction quantity, in accordance with its web site.
In 2022, Blockchain.com closed a funding spherical that noticed its valuation spike from $5.2 billion to $14 billion lower than two months earlier than the collapse of Do Kwon’s Terra ecosystem.
Nevertheless, a $110 million Sequence E financing spherical in 2023 greater than halved its 2022 valuation
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South Africa leads in crypto race
South Africa is rising as a frontrunner in Africa’s crypto race, with the nation positioning itself as a regional hub for digital property.
In response to Ben Caselin, chief advertising and marketing officer at Johannesburg-based crypto trade VALR, South Africa’s sturdy authorized infrastructure and business-friendly surroundings make it a perfect launchpad for crypto corporations seeking to increase throughout the continent.
In a September 2024 interview with Cointelegraph, Caselin emphasised that regulatory readability is a significant factor drawing each native and worldwide gamers to South Africa.
Momentum continues to construct, with the Monetary Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) approving 59 crypto platform licenses by March 2024, as over 260 functions stay beneath evaluate.
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