🟠 USDC issuer Circle bets on African builders

Circle selects five African projects in latest USDC grants round

Topline: Circle has announced the fourth cohort of its USDC Developer Grant Program, comprising 26 early-stage teams building blockchain applications globally. Five of them are from Africa, the highest regional count so far. (Details)

Quick facts: The selected projects: Flipeet Raise, LINK, Scalex, SFx, and Katika. Each received between $5,000 and $100,000 in USDC, plus technical and marketing support.

• Projects are chosen for real-world use cases involving Circle’s programmable wallets and smart contract APIs.
• Circle notes that this cohort has demonstrated the highest quality and ambition yet, with strong regional representation and creative problem-solving.

What they’re saying
“From Singapore to Africa, LATAM to Europe, the applicants’ creativity and ambition pushed us to dig deeper, debate harder, and ultimately select the projects we believe will help move the entire industry forward.”
- Circle team, announcement blog

Why it matters: Crypto VC funding in Africa dropped by 70% in H1 2024. Following the FTX collapse, capital has become even tougher to access. For many early-stage builders, grants like these are now essential lifelines, providing capital, validation and a shot at scaling.

Zoom out: There’s growing competition to dominate Africa’s stablecoin market.

• Circle is going the infrastructure route: offering developer grants, business support, and payments integration. Its Circle Payments Network now includes African partners like Onafriq, Flutterwave, and Yellow Card.
• Tether, meanwhile, is investing on the ground, backing African startups and funding crypto education initiatives through grassroots partners. Recent investments include Sorted Wallet (2024), Mansa (early 2025), and Shiga (June 2025).

31% of Kenyan banks are warming up to crypto — CBK

Topline: A new survey by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) shows that 31% of commercial and microfinance banks say they’re “highly likely” to engage in virtual assets like cryptocurrencies and NFTs. (Details)

Key details: These banks view cryptocurrency as an alternative investment and payment channel, one that can expedite transactions and reduce costs. However, they also identified significant risks, including fraud, cybersecurity threats, and money laundering.

• For 35% of banks, the absence of clear regulation remains a significant obstacle, not just for crypto but also across other fintech areas, such as digital lending and blockchain applications.

Zoom in: Internally, 84% of banks and 79% of microfinance banks say changing customer behavior is the biggest driver of innovation.

• Externally, new technologies (79%) and rising regulatory demands (74%) are shaping their next moves.
• The competitive landscape, however, appears less urgent: only 32% of banks and 43% of MFBs consider it a significant factor.

Zoom out: Kenya remains one of Africa’s most active crypto markets; however, regulation hasn’t kept pace.

• The country was added to the FATF grey list in March 2024 due to weaknesses in its crypto oversight. In response, the government is working on the Virtual Asset Service Providers Bill, 2025.
• The proposed law would require crypto companies to register locally, appoint approved directors, and fall under the jurisdiction of a recognized regulatory body, such as the Capital Markets Authority (CMA).

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: Societe Generale becomes the first major bank to launch a USD stablecoin

Societe Generale is rolling out USD CoinVertible, a dollar-backed stablecoin launching on Ethereum and Solana in July. Issued via its crypto arm SG-FORGE and regulated under Europe’s MiCA, the token will be listed on crypto exchanges with BNY Mellon as custodian. It marks TradFi’s boldest step yet into stablecoin territory. (Reuters)

2. Shopify introduces USDC payments on Base Network

Shopify has joined the growing list of bigwig service providers to integrate stablecoin payments, with its support of USDC. The new feature is currently available in select markets, including the US, Mexico, and certain parts of Europe and Asia, at its initial stage. (Fortune)

3. Walmart and Amazon are considering issuing corporate stablecoins

The two retail giants are mulling providing stablecoin payment services to customers to reduce transaction fees. This would involve each company launching its own stablecoins, partnering on a joint venture, or incorporating existing stablecoins. (Wall Street Journal)

4. Fortune 500 interest in stablecoins soars according to new Coinbase report

29% of Fortune 500 executives confirmed their companies are interested in or working with stablecoins, up from a mere 8% in 2024. The report also noted a broad appeal among small businesses, with 81% expressing interest in stablecoins. (Cointelegraph)

➕ More stablecoin headlines

• Financial markets giant DTCC explores a stablecoin, The Information says
• Moment of truth as Senate votes on GENIUS Bill June 17.
• South Korea proposes a stablecoin legalization bill
• Circle partners with Matera to improve multi-currency service provision in Brazilian banks.
• Tether buys minority stake worth $82 million in Canadian gold royalty company.
• How stablecoins are entering the financial mainstream
• Why retailers are looking into stablecoins

Catch up

🇬🇭 Bank of Ghana cautions public against YellowPay, USD Stablecoin-related offering from Yellow Card (BOG)

🌍 Kenya hailed for spearheading crypto regulation laws in Africa (The Star)

🇰🇪 Kenya’s crypto tax could hinder Africa’s digital growth opportunity (Cointelegraph)

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.