Coinbase partners with Yellow Card to expand USDC reach in Africa
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has partnered with Africa Yellow Card to expand its products to 20 new African countries – focused on increasing access to the US Dollar Coin (USDC) stablecoin.
“Our new partnership […] Helping to bring USDC and fast, secure, cheap transactions to millions of users with an open L2 Base through both Coinbase and Yellow Card products.
Crypto is here to stay – helping drive a more open, accessible and global financial system.
Coinbase products are now available in Africa from 20 countries on the continent. Learn more about our partnership with @yellowcard_app: pic.twitter.com/Y0oZOwwdxr
— Coinbase ️ (@coinbase) January 11, 2024
Yellow Card CEO Chris Morris told Cointelegraph that the partnership will involve Coinbase integrating Yellow Card's payment channels in Africa to enable its customers to travel and pay in Bitcoin (BTC) and USD Coin on an Ethereum Layer 2 rollup base.
This will be accessible to African users through Coinbase Wallet, which recently implemented a new feature to transfer links from social media platforms such as iMessage, Telegram, WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram.
In addition to USDC, Morris said other cryptocurrencies and stablecoins supported by Coinbase will be integrated.
The Yellow Card website lists 20 countries in which it operates – including Nigeria, South Africa, Botswana, Ghana, Kenya and Tanzania.
Coinbase hopes that many of these countries have high inflation and exchange rates, and that the partnership with Yellow Card will provide a more economically viable route into the region.
“Many of these markets seek economic opportunity for below-average populations,” Coinbase said, adding that Africa is “by far” the smallest continent.
Related: Africa: the next hub for Bitcoin, crypto adoption and venture capital?
Morris believes that this partnership will make doing business easier for many Africans on the continent.
“Stablecoins like USDC solve real problems for real people and businesses across the continent,” Morris emphasized in a January 11 statement.
Excited to bring @coinbase to Africa!
Stablecoins like USDC solve real problems for real people and businesses on the continent.
With @yellowcard_app's regional expertise and Coinbase's global brand and infrastructure, we empower the next one billion people. https://t.co/9DOgZ4TKMr
— Chris Maurice⚜️ (@chrismaurice) January 11, 2024
Morris previously told Cointelegraph that the most common issues in Africa are making international payments, sending money to friends and family, and “saving money against inflation.”
“Crypto solves real-world problems in banking and continental currencies, and is not the casino it sometimes feels like in the West.”
BitcoinAfrica.io reports that South Africa, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Ghana are the top five African countries accepting Bitcoin.
The Central African Republic specifically became the first African country to accept Bitcoin as legal tender. However, this was short-lived as the government launched its crypto token project Sango Coin just days after the Bitcoin Act.
Magazine: Bitcoin in Senegal: Why is this African country using BTC?
