🟠 Uber eyes stablecoins for cheaper global payments

Big on wallets, light on volume: Africa’s crypto paradox

Topline: A new report from Dune Analytics’ African community shows Nigeria tops global charts for crypto wallet adoption on platforms like Zerion, MetaMask, and Trust Wallet.

• However, while Nigerians lead in downloads and sign-ups, their actual asset holdings are relatively low, suggesting a high interest but limited capital or long-term usage. (Details)

The report uses data from Addressable to map EVM-compatible wallets and activity across 12 African countries.

What stood out: Africa is a top user base for non-custodial wallets.

• 38% of Zerion users are African.
• Trust Wallet, MetaMask, Phantom, Rabby, and Sui also show high adoption.
• Nigeria leads across most wallets.
  • Nigerians make up over 50% of African users on several platforms and often rank first globally.
• But adoption doesn’t equal usage.
  • Africans contribute fewer transactions compared to their user base.
  • For Zerion, Africans represent 17.8% of transactions despite being 38% of users.
  • Rabby sees just 5.3% of its activity from African users.

Where’s the value? On larger platforms like Trust Wallet, Algerians hold 81.4% of all African user assets.

• On Coinbase, South Africans control 81.5%.
• Nigerians dominate asset holdings only on smaller wallets like Phantom (92.5%), Zerion (60%), and Rabby (40.7%).

Why the gap? South Africa’s VALR exchange says limited wealth, not lack of motivation, drives low transaction volumes in Africa.

Quidax’s Ezekiel Ojewunmi said:

“For those who have discovered its utility, crypto has become an essential tool that powers their daily lives.”

Superteam Nigeria’s Harrison Obiefule points out another angle:

“Most activity is in high-frequency trades like remittances and arbitrage —not long-term holdings.”

He says tools like on-chain bill payment, low-stake savings, and better fiat on-ramps could improve engagement over time.

UK-based crypto exchange Blockchain.com to expand into Africa

Global cryptocurrency exchange, Blockchain.com, plans to expand its services into Africa, targeting countries that have established cryptocurrency regulations or are in the process of doing so. (Details)

Key details: The company says it’s targeting Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa, markets that either already have crypto regulations or are working on them.

• In a statement to Mariblock, Owenize Odia, Blockchain.com’s GM for Africa, said:

“Our near-term focus is on scaling our presence in a responsible and compliant manner. Although Nigeria is first to receive investment in infrastructure and team-building, our goal is to execute this expansion through 2025 and into early 2026 across the board.”

• She confirmed that the company plans to open a physical office in Nigeria before the end of June, making it the first global exchange to do so.

What else we know: Physical offices in Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa are in the works, with the full rollout likely to stretch into 2026.

• Blockchain.com is also exploring opportunities in other African markets.

Why it matters: Most global exchanges operate in Africa without local offices or licenses, but regulation is tightening.

• Nigeria now legally recognizes crypto and mandates local offices for licensing.

CAR to tokenize 1,700 hectares of land using meme coin

Topline: Central African Republic President Faustin-Archange Touadéra has decreed the tokenization of over 1,700 hectares of land using the country’s meme coin, $CAR. (Details)

Details: The land in Bosongo village, 45 km west of Bangui, will be listed on the Solana blockchain by June 2025.

• Global buyers can purchase plots using $CAR, which Touadéra refers to as the “national meme coin.”
• Following the announcement, $CAR surged over 20%, with daily volume up 32%, per CoinGecko.

Quick context: Launched in February 2025, $CAR was pitched as a unifying crypto experiment.

• It debuted at $0.775 but crashed amid controversy, including deepfake promo content, social media blackouts, and a brief domain suspension by Namecheap.

One Take from Sidebar

In this edition of Sidebar, our Q&A series featuring the voices shaping Africa’s blockchain future, Damilare Aregbesola, Coinbase's West African Lead, shares Coinbase’s strategy to support African builders in advancing beyond the hackathon stage and his approach to opening doors for both technical and non-technical builders to access global opportunities and funding.

Here’s one sharp takeaway.

Stablecoins are becoming the backbone of digital finance — from cross-border payments to government policy. Each week, we track the most important developments shaping this evolving market for you.

1. One big thing: Uber eyes stablecoins for global payments

Dara Khosrowshahi, the CEO of Uber, has confirmed that the ride-hailing service is exploring the feasibility of stablecoins as a means to move funds. The move aims to reduce the costs of international money transfers, Khosrowshahi said at the Bloomberg Tech Summit in San Francisco. (Bloomberg)

2. Big Tech firms looking into stablecoin integration

Big Tech firms, including X, Apple, Airbnb, and Google, have begun exploring the prospect of integrating stablecoins for cheaper costs and cross-border payments. This comes weeks after it was reported that major banks were also considering delving into stablecoins, as the GENIUS Bill draws closer to passage. (Fortune)

3. BCP Technologies launches GBP-backed stablecoin

📍 Summary:

BCP Technologies, a UK-based cryptocurrency firm, has announced the launch of the tGBP, a stablecoin pegged to the British Pound. The company confirmed the product’s rollout is closely following emerging FCA regulatory moves, and listing on major exchanges is expected to follow soon. (Cointelegraph)

➕ More stablecoin headlines

• Maple launches yield-bearing stablecoin as it expands to the Solana blockchain.
• Arca dumps Circle shares after public fallout amidst IPO debut on the NYSE.
• Dubai’s financial services regulator approves Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin.
• Circle increases IPO pricing and offering for the second time, now up to 34 million shares at $31 apiece.

Catch up

🇰🇪 31% of Kenyan banks ready to deal in cryptocurrency: CBK (Citizen Digital)

🌍 Tether invests in Shiga Digital, seeks to expand (Tether)

🇰🇪 Latin American payments firm, dLocal, to acquire Africa’s crypto remittance fintech, AZA Finance (formerly BitPesa) (BitKe)

Opportunities

• Sign up for Bybit Academy via AltSchool Africa here.
• The Network School is launching a $100,000 fellowship for founders and creators. Apply here.
• UNICEF Venture Fund is offering $100,000 in equity-free funding for blockchain and frontier technology startups. Apply here.

That’s all for this week!

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Till next week,

Ogechi.