In Centralised Exchanges We Trust?

04/11/23 • 43 min

In today's episode of crypto@scale, we're exploring centralized exchanges with our two guests, Ruth Iselema, the CEO of Bitmama, and Chris Maurice, the CEO of Yellow Card.

There's a lot of strong opinions about the role of centralization in crypto, particularly in the aftermath of FTX. Yet, centralized exchanges still provide perhaps the easiest on- and off-ramps into the crypto ecosystem.

If you visit retailers that accept crypto payments in any African city, they're likely using a centralized exchange as their wallet. In order for us to see adoption of crypto at scale, that approachable user experience really matters. And undoubtedly, centralized exchanges like Bitmama and Yellow Card have an important role to play.

This episode of crypto@scale is sponsored by Ripple. Across Africa, Ripple is partnering with local financial institutions and fintechs to bring the benefits of better cross-border remittances to the region. To learn more and get in contact with the Ripple team, head over to ripple.com.

00:00 - Intro.
02:40 - Bitmama & Yellow Card's founding stories.
06:30 - Yellow Card's expansion to 16 countries.
08:43 - Bitmama's evolution from P2P to CEX.
10:53 - Post-FTX, proof of reserves, centralization, and use cases.
23:07 - Crypto education and regulation.
42:37 - Ruth & Chris' recommendations.

In today's episode of crypto@scale, we're exploring centralized exchanges with our two guests, Ruth Iselema, the CEO of Bitmama, and Chris Maurice, the CEO of Yellow Card.

Previous Episode

Stablecoins: Africa's Killer Crypto App

In this episode of crytpo@scale, we're exploring what might be Africa's killer crypto app, stablecoins. According to data from Coinmetrics, cumulative Stablecoin volumes are at a $9 trillion annualized run rate, exceeding the volumes of all major card networks, except for Visa. Across the African continent, stablecoins are finding meaningful uptake, particularly in markets with low USD liquidity, or countries experiencing currency devaluation.

In today's episode, we're going to explore stablecoins in two parts. First, a global perspective with Joao Reginatto, the VP of Product at Circle, which is the company behind the USDC stablecoin. Second, a local perspective with Ngozi Dozie, Co-Founder of the African digital bank, Carbon.

00:00 - Intro. Stablecoins are the best thing since sliced bread, according to Ngozi Dozie.

02:23 - Introducing Joao Reginatto, VP, Product at Circle and product lead for USDC.

02:48 - What is a stablecoins?

04:21 - Why stablecoins?

13:33 - Not all stablecoins are equal. USDC is pegged 1:1 to the Dollar.

24:22 - What else is Circle focused on to broaden the adoption of USDC?

28:30 - Regulation.

32:10 - What's next for stablecoins?

36:25 - Joao's recommendations.

37:44 - Exploring stablecoins in the African context, with Carbon's Ngozi Dozie.

40:48 - Use cases: access to foreign exchange, hedge against devaluation.

44:05 - Carbon's FX and borrowing woes.

48:22 - Stablecoins as a platform.

52:27 - Challenges to stablecoin adoption.

1:00:06 - Ngozi is scared of the risk of capital flight.

1:03:46 - Ngozi's recommendations.

Next Episode

Africa's Peer-to-Peer Story

African markets are inherently peer-to-peer. And peer-to-peer markets, whether formal digital marketplaces or informal trading groups on WhatsApp and Telegram, have played an important role in the adoption of crypto across African markets.

According to Chainalysis, the transaction volume from peer-to-peer exchanges in sub-Saharan Africa more than doubles the share of the next closest region. And indeed, this peer-to-peer nature of African markets extends beyond just crypto, from community lending to the airtime trading and user behavior that predated formal mobile money.

To tell the peer-to-peer story and to interrogate this dynamic further, we're joined by two guests, Michael Kimani, the Co-founder of Fonbnk, and Emmanuel Babilola, or "Babz", the CEO of Bundle and the Director of Fiat at Binance Africa.

This season of The Flip is sponsored by Ripple.

00:00 - In today's episode, we're exploring Africa's peer-to-peer story.
02:59 - Introducing Michael Kimani and Fonbank.
03:52 - Introducing Emmanuel "Babz" Babilola and Bundle.
06:30- Today's P2P crypto trading reminds Michael of the early days of airtime currency trading.
09:56 - What we're seeing with the adoption of crypto is people trying to exit from the current financial system.
14:07 - Exploring the challenges with P2P.
24:40 - What does the future look like?
27:16 - Michael's recommendations.
28:44 - Babz's recommendations.

Resources discussed in this episode:

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