Africa and the Middle East
Welcome to our weekly roundup of all important blockchain and cryptocurrency news from around the world. Follow the latest developments in the cryptocurrency space continent by continent, country by country.
Kenya
Restaurant accepts Bitcoin and Dash for food and crypto classes: A new restaurant in Kenya is offering food and cryptocurrency classes in exchange for cryptocurrencies. Situated in the small town of Nyeri, the local tech-savvy restaurant embraced cryptocurrency payment as a first in the region.
The town itself is 150 km from the capital Nairobi and lies near the popular destination of Mount Kenya. According to the proprietress of the eatery, Wambagu: “Since the world is becoming more global, my place is also becoming a global restaurant.”
Wambagu prides herself on being a cryptocurrency pioneer in the country and people flock to her restaurant because of her excellent food. She has also introduced cryptocurrency education classes for interested individuals inside her restaurant every Sunday and attendees can also pay the nominal fee in Bitcoin.
South Africa
South Africa deemed most crypto-friendly country in region: South Africa has been deemed as the most pro-crypto country in the African continent according to a report by French banking group BNB Paribas and Capgemini IT company.
According to the report, South Africa has allowed cryptocurrency payments, trades and investments without too much regulatory backlash. The country is also investing a lot in blockchain and crypto education as well as becoming home to an increasing number of Bitcoin ATMs and cryptocurrency exchanges.
Other African countries are also progressing but a relatively slower pace. Kenya and Ghana are also catching up with South Africa and allowing a pro-crypto culture within the countries.
African Union
Blockchain and crypto making a difference in Africa: Cryptocurrencies and DLT are paving way for economic inclusion and stimulating growth in the African countries. Many public sectors are weighing up the option to use cryptocurrencies to battle corruption and inefficiency in government departments.
While globalization and mercantilism have happened largely at the expense of African nations and exploitation of their resources, it is refreshing to see that cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology are helping African people and governments push back. The recent adoption of blockchain systems for rare earth metal tracking in Rwanda is a good example because of rampant labor violations going in the mines that provide the world with much of the metals that are used in electronics manufacturing.
Turkey
CoinText Introduced in Turkey: Turkey, along with Argentina, are now within the operational coverage of CoinText, an offline SMS-based cryptocurrency trading solution. With the new service, Turks will be able to use Bitcoin Cash (BCH) through an SMS rather than a wallet which is connected to the internet and thus susceptible to intrusion.
Cryptocurrency trading in the country has reached record levels after a recent plunge in the demand of local currency lira.
Israel
Central banks wants to help blockchain companies: At the Israeli Blockchain Summit in the capital of Tel Aviv, Bank of Israel Head of Innovation and technology, Daniel Hahiashvili, said that the bank is looking to facilitate blockchain companies in the country.
His statement echoed change occurring in the system after the Bank of Israel banned cryptocurrencies five years ago.
United Arab Emirates
Government finds solution for ICO liability: The UAE regulator Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) has announced a plan that will recognize cryptocurrencies as securities and thus make them liable for SCA’s jurisdiction.
While such a move may be detrimental and less encouraging for cryptocurrencies and new ICOs, it is still one of the more popular ways to regulate new ICOs and their tokens. The SCA has also warned about investing in cryptocurrencies before.
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