Decentralization

Introduction Standard Chartered and HSBC have completed the first live cross-border transaction using tokenised bank deposits on Swift’s blockchain-based ledger, marking a significant step towards always-on payments between regulated financial institutions. The transaction, announced on 19 August 2026, demonstrated that deposits issued on two separate banking platforms could interact through shared infrastructure while maintaining existing […]

Introduction Ghana has published the full list of 11 companies admitted into the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Sandbox, marking an important step in the implementation of the country’s new digital asset regulatory framework. The programme commenced in March 2026 under the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act, 2025 (Act 1154). It will allow

Introduction Tether has completed its first full independent financial statement audit, marking a significant step forward for both the company and the wider stablecoin industry. KPMG U.S. issued an unqualified audit opinion on Tether International’s financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2025. This is the most favourable opinion an independent auditor can provide,

Introduction Western Union just did something remittance giants rarely do: it built on-chain rails into its core product instead of watching from the sidelines. On August 4, 2026, the company launched StableCard, a joint venture with stablecoin infrastructure provider Rain, combining a USDPT wallet with a Visa-branded card. Users can receive Western Union transfers straight

Introduction What fintech founders, VASPs, and compliance teams need to know about the 2025 capital divergence, the regulation landing across the continent, and the trust layer that global growth capital now demands African founders closed 28 blockchain rounds in 2025. The number of deals barely moved. What changed was the size of the checks. Total

Introduction Businesses can now collect, disburse, and settle payments in Nigeria through a single API following Kotani Pay’s expansion into Africa’s largest market. Kotani Pay, a CASP-licensed payment orchestration platform powering seamless cross-border payments across Africa, has extended its payment infrastructure into Nigeria, enabling businesses to access local payment rails without the complexity of building

Introduction A new partnership announced this week is worth paying attention to if you’re tracking where stablecoin infrastructure is actually landing on the continent, not in pilots aimed at remittances, but in trade finance. Access Bank South Africa and Stables, a USDt-native payments infrastructure provider focused on Asia and MENA, have entered an exploration phase

Introduction For decades, proving that an academic certificate is genuine in Kenya has meant navigating slow manual verification chains, processes that could take a month for a single check and stretch to six months for employers verifying large batches of candidates. Even the more recent move to QR-coded paper certificates left a weakness: the underlying

Introduction Yellow Card, the stablecoin infrastructure provider best known for powering crypto-to-fiat rails across Africa, has closed a $40 million strategic funding round. The round drew participation from SC Ventures (Standard Chartered’s innovation and investment arm), Sony Innovation Fund, Polychain Capital, Blockchain Capital, and other strategic backers. The new capital brings Yellow Card’s total equity

Introduction On 31 July 2026, the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) published Information Circular No. 2026/21, its first comprehensive guidance on how Virtual Assets (VAs), crypto, stablecoins, NFTs, tokenized securities, and more, will be taxed. For anyone building, trading, or transacting in this space in Nigeria, this is the framework to know. Here’s the full picture,