AF / Crypto news
Blockchain perspectives from across Africa
← HomeHow XTransfer Is Winning Nigeria’s China Trade Payments
XTransfer is gaining ground in Nigeria-China trade by winning over Chinese suppliers who introduce its naira payment solutions to Nigerian importers. Its supplier-led strategy, local payment partnerships and China network offer an edge, despite regulatory and competitive risks.
↗01 Nov 2026Crypto’s Next U.S. Power Play: Hyperliquid and Kraken’s Parent Make Moves
Hyperliquid is moving closer to the U.S. market through a proposed partnership with Kraken’s parent, Payward. By combining regulated financial entities with on-chain trading infrastructure, the deal could create a new pathway for compliant DeFi access.
↗01 Nov 2026Stablecoins and 24/7 Trading: Hong Kong Brings Its Digital Finance Vision to Life
Hong Kong is turning its digital-finance ambitions into reality as HSBC brings stablecoin payments to millions of users and tokenized money-market funds gain 24/7 trading access. The next challenge is turning these launches into sustained adoption and liquidity.
↗01 Nov 2026Why Futu and Interactive Brokers Are Betting Big on Crypto
Traditional brokerages are expanding beyond crypto trading by integrating stablecoin funding, on-chain transfers and financing services. Their goal is to connect traditional and digital assets, unlock greater purchasing power and generate new revenue from customer holdings.
↗24 Oct 2026WLFI Faces Lawsuit From Justin Sun and Circle Shareholder Amid Trump Crypto Scrutiny
A Circle shareholder has sued Trump and World Liberty Financial, alleging UAE-linked deals worth $2.5 billion violated constitutional rules and harmed Circle’s business. A separate lawsuit by Justin Sun over frozen tokens adds scrutiny as WLFI’s USD1 stablecoin pursues a national trust bank charter.
↗24 Oct 2026GENIUS Act Leaves Door Open to Stablecoin Rewards as Banks Warn of $850B Lending Risk.
The OCC’s GENIUS Act rules preserve the ban on stablecoin issuers paying yield solely for holding tokens but remove a presumption against certain third-party rewards. Crypto firms welcomed the change, while banks warn stablecoin adoption could reduce community-bank lending by $850 billion.
↗24 Oct 2026Microsoft and Goldman Draw the Line at OKX Listing, Not Tokenization
Microsoft, Google, Goldman Sachs and 13 other companies have objected to OKXICE’s plans to trade tokenized stocks. The dispute highlights a growing divide over who controls tokenized securities, how prices are set, and whether blockchain-based markets should operate within traditional financial infrastructure.
↗24 Oct 2026Claude’s 53-Hour Sprint Puts Bitcoin and Banks’ Quantum Security in Focus
Claude Mythos 5 redesigned a key quantum circuit for elliptic-curve cryptography in 53 hours, cutting its gate count to roughly one-seventeenth of a previous design. Though quantum computers remain far from breaking Bitcoin, the research highlights the urgency of upgrading crypto and banking security.
↗24 Oct 2026Hynix Shares Keep Falling: Are Stock Perpetuals Driving the Decline?
Binance’s Hynix-linked stock perpetuals recorded $5.03 billion in trading volume over three days, equivalent to 21.8% of combined spot-market turnover in South Korea and the US. The scale raises questions about whether crypto derivatives could influence traditional stock prices through hedging and liquidity.
↗24 Oct 2026Solana’s Shanghai Spotlight Fades as Event Faces Trouble 40 Hours Later
Solana’s high-profile Shanghai office reveal was followed by the reported cancellation of its Accelerate China event less than 48 hours later. The disruption raises questions about the blockchain’s China expansion strategy, local regulatory challenges, and its ability to build lasting developer partnerships.
↗24 Oct 2026Stablecoin M&A: Mastercard Moves First on Visa’s Stablecoin Partner
Mastercard’s $1.8 billion BVNK acquisition highlights a growing race to control stablecoin payment infrastructure. Alongside Stripe and Circle, major players are acquiring banking relationships, payment rails, and regulatory access to connect blockchain transactions with traditional finance, raising questions.
↗24 Oct 2026USDe One Year After the 10/11 Crash: How a Stablecoin Lost Nearly 70% of Its Supply
One year after the October 2025 crypto crash, USDe’s supply has fallen nearly 70% from its $14.7 billion peak. Ethena has diversified beyond derivatives hedging into DeFi lending and institutional credit, reducing funding-rate dependence while introducing new credit and liquidity risks.
↗24 Oct 2026The $86 Million Loss: Rethinking Trust in Officially Authorized Hardware Wallets
The CryptoBilis incident raises questions about hardware wallet security after reported losses potentially exceeding $86 million. Suspected hardware implants highlight the limits of authenticity checks, while ownership changes underscore the need for stronger supply-chain oversight and device integrity verification.
↗12 Oct 2026U.S. Stocks Can Now Be Used as Collateral. DeFi Lending Still Has Gaps to Close
Aave and Morpho are bringing tokenized U.S. stocks on-chain as collateral for USDC loans. But low borrowing demand, stale weekend prices and limited liquidity raise concerns about liquidation risks and whether tokenized equities can support sustainable DeFi lending.
↗12 Oct 2026Samsung Wallet Defaults to USDC: How Much Dollar Value Can It Retain?
Coinbase is bringing USDC to Samsung Wallet’s 82 million eligible U.S. devices, expanding stablecoin payments and remittances. Adoption and revenue sharing will determine the partnership’s commercial impact.
↗24 Sept 2026Who Really Earns the Yield on Stablecoin Treasury Reserves?
Stablecoin issuers earn billions from reserve assets, but much of that revenue is shared with exchanges and other distribution partners competing for user balances. Circle’s deals with Coinbase and Binance show how control of stablecoin balances is becoming central to revenue.
↗23 Sept 2026Salvador Keeps Adding Bitcoin Despite IMF Agreement to Halt Purchases
El Salvador’s Bitcoin holdings have risen to 7,777 BTC despite its IMF agreement to stop purchases with public funds. The IMF says the new holdings came from private donations and wallet consolidation, raising questions about whether the country is exploiting a loophole.
↗23 Sept 2026BlackRock and Visa-Backed Circle Launches Arc Blockchain Amid Meme-Coin Frenzy
Circle launched Arc, its new blockchain, with major institutions including BlackRock and Visa among its founding validators. The chain saw strong early activity, driven largely by meme-coin launchpads. Beyond speculation, Circle aims to use Arc to expand USDC’s role in payments, AI-agent transactions and on-chain finan
↗22 Sept 2026Exchanges Are Shutting Down, Traditional Finance Groups Are Acquiring Them
CoinEx will shut down after nearly nine years despite reserves above 100%. Its exit, alongside BitMart, BitMEX and AscendEX, highlights growing pressure on mid-sized exchanges as trading volume concentrates among larger platforms while licensing, compliance and operating costs rise.
↗22 Sept 2026PayPal and Bybit Take Different Approaches to Supporting WeChat Pay QR Payments
PayPal and Bybit are taking different routes to connect crypto users with WeChat Pay’s vast merchant network in mainland China. While PayPal relies on traditional payment and FX infrastructure, Bybit allows eligible overseas users to pay merchants directly with crypto by scanning WeChat Pay QR codes.
↗22 Sept 2026A 64-Year-Old Makes 9,100% as Pons Ignites Robinhood’s Launchpad War
Robinhood Chain’s launchpad battle is heating up between Pons, LONG, and Uniswap’s Pools. Pons currently leads, while trader Bonk Guy reportedly made nearly 9,100% on PONS. The key question: can the meme-driven hype survive after gas subsidies end?
↗22 Sept 2026Nasdaq Takes a Stake in Kraken for a $100 Million Ticket In
Nasdaq’s $100 million investment in Kraken highlights the growing convergence of traditional finance and crypto. Alongside ICE and Deutsche Börse, major exchanges are partnering with crypto platforms to access users while bringing traditional infrastructure and regulation into digital assets.
↗22 Sept 2026After ZEC Reaches the Top Ten, Every Old Score Returns
Zcash surged over 150%, briefly surpassing $1,200 and entering crypto’s top 10. Despite concerns over its privacy model, governance, token distribution and security flaw, supporters see growing institutional demand. The rally raises questions over whether ZEC’s momentum reflects genuine adoption or speculation.
↗22 Sept 2026Robinhood’s Coin-Stock Pairing Takes Off as Solana Copies It
The dispute between AMC and Robinhood over tokenized stocks has reignited questions about who can put stock-linked assets on-chain. Solana has quickly adopted the narrative through projects like StonkFun, using tokenized assets to create new trading pairs and speculation.
↗22 Sept 2026DeFi's Buyback Boom Hides a Valuation Split
DeFi buyback tokens trade at wildly different multiples despite similar mechanics — PONS at 0.9x, HYPE at 29.2x. Low multiples (PONS) signal unproven, possibly fading revenue; high ones (HYPE) reflect paid-for durability. Uniswap Labs' PONS stake links the two stories together.
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