Stablecoins: Africa's Killer Crypto App

03/31/23 • 65 min

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.

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. 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.

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.

Previous Episode

Introducing crypto@scale

Introducing crypto@scale, a new show from The Flip, co-hosted by MFS Africa's Head of Crypto, Gwera Kiwana, and The Flip's Justin Norman.

crypto@scale is a pragmatic and hopefully hype-free exploration of the crypto ecosystem across the African continent.

Today's episode is a conversation recorded live from Nairobi last month. In this conversation, we share our perspectives on the sector, the use cases we find the most intriguing, the challenges we find most pressing, why we're launching a crypto show in the middle of a bear market, and what you can expect from us and this show.

For more from crypto@scale, follow us on Twitter @cryptoatscale.

00:00 - Intro

02:16 - Why are we launching this show

3:51 - The African market conditions and context for crypto's adoption

6:47 - Crypto use cases: stablecoins

10:36 - Regulation, centralization, and CBDCs

14:16 - DeFi and real-world assets

17:36 - Interoperability

19:26 - User experience and crypto education

22:17 - The DeFi Mullet

23:14 - Who's going to build and design for the future of African markets?

26:57 - Why the name crypto@scale? And what does crypto at scale mean to us?

29:15 - Prediction and wishlist

Next Episode

In Centralised Exchanges We Trust?

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.

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.