The CEO of Yellow Card Financial Inc., a pan-African digital assets exchange, Chris Maurice, has said that traditional banks in Africa are now showing interest in cryptocurrency as optimism for regulation heightens across the continent.
Maurice, who stated this in an interview, also highlighted how the inauguration of crypto-friendly US President Donald Trump is likely to accelerate regulatory developments across the African continent.
“We’re having conversations with banks and other major financial institutions that a couple of months ago, they didn’t want to hear about crypto, they didn’t want to talk about it,”
“Now these guys are calling us, they’re interested. They want to understand how do they get into the space. I think obviously part of it is the Trump effect,” Maurice said.
Crypto regulation anticipated across Africa
Maurice expressed optimism that more African governments would soon come up with crypto regulation on the back of the recent global shift and the changes coming from the US.
“With the US moving this way, I think you’ll see a lot more speed from various governments in Africa in terms of achieving regulatory clarity.
“This gives us more confidence that over the next year or so, we’ll see sweeping regulatory changes across the continent,” Maurice said.
- The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent announcement of a cryptocurrency-focused task force is expected to influence regulatory momentum in Africa.
- Currently, most African countries lack comprehensive legislation for cryptocurrencies, with many central banks monitoring trading activities due to concerns over capital flight and currency stability.
- High-profile incidents, such as the arrest and trial of a Binance executive in Nigeria last year, highlight the regulatory challenges in the region. Despite these hurdles, Maurice noted a shift in sentiment since Trump’s election, with many African governments beginning to explore frameworks to regulate the crypto market.
Africa’s leadership in crypto adoption
Maurice highlighted Africa’s significant role in global cryptocurrency adoption noting that Nigeria is number one globally for stablecoin adoption and number two for overall crypto adoption.
“South Africa, Kenya, and Ghana are all in the top 20 globally for adopting this technology,” he added.
- According to him, cryptocurrency has become a popular tool for international remittances among Africans in the diaspora, as well as for small and medium-sized businesses leveraging stablecoins for transactions.
- Maurice emphasized the importance of maintaining Africa’s momentum and leadership in the global cryptocurrency market.
“The question now is whether the continent can sustain this momentum and keep its lead,” he said.
Ongoing regulatory conversations
Maurice said ongoing regulatory conversations in countries like Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda, and Ghana are encouraging companies like Yellow Card to invest and expand.
“These developments give companies the confidence to invest, hire more, and grow their teams,” Maurice added.
While Yellow Card missed out on Nigeria’s accelerated regulatory incubation program last year, Maurice remains optimistic about securing a permanent operational license from the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
He views regulatory progress as a critical step for the industry’s growth.
What you should know
Last August, Nigeria’s SEC announced that it had granted an Approval-in-Principle to two crypto exchanges Quidax and Busha, greenlighting its readiness to regulate the crypto industry in the country.
The two exchanges were approved under the Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Program (ARIP) program of the Commission.
- In addition to that, the Commission said also admitted four companies to test their models and technology under its Regulatory Incubation (RI) Program.
- The four firms are digital assets offering platforms, which include Trovotech Ltd, Wrapped CBDC Ltd, Dream City Capital, and HousingExhange.NG Ltd.
- The SEC noted that the listed above firms are not the only entities that have applied to ARIP and the RI Program.
- It added that other applications received are being assessed and would be granted Approval-in-Principle on a case-by-case basis as they meet all its requirements.
