(Kitco News) - Africa continues to be a focal point of cryptocurrency adoption as a new partnership between Bitnob and CoinCorner will now enable people in the U.K. and Europe to send money to Africa using Bitcoin and the Lightning Network.
Thanks to the newly signed partnership agreement with Bitnob, CoinCorner users will now be able to utilize the “Send Globally” feature to transfer British pounds (GBP) or Euros (EUR) instantly to Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana via the Bitcoin Lightning Network.
By utilizing Send Globally, users can send GBP or EUR to recipients in Africa, which will automatically be exchanged into the Nigerian naira (NGN), Kenyan shilling (KES) or Ghanaian cedi (GHS) and deposited in a local bank account or mobile money wallet.
Funds sent via Send Globally are first converted into Bitcoin (BTC) and then transferred via the Lightning Network. Once Bitnob receives the funds, they are immediately converted into the local currency and deposited into the recipient's designated account.
According to the announcement from CoinCorner, approximately £12 billion is remitted from the UK and Europe to Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana each year.
“The remittance market is a huge opportunity for Bitcoin,” said CoinCorner CEO Danny Scott. “By partnering with Bitnob to provide a seamless cross-border experience using Bitcoin and the Lightning Network, we hope to remove some of the friction and cost that customers experience when using traditional FX and money remittance companies.”
According to Bernard Parah, the CEO of Bitnob, Sub-Sahara Africa is one of the most expensive regions in the world to send money to, costing an average of 8.2% to conduct such transactions in the fourth quarter of 2020 according to data from the World Bank.
“Bitnob is all about changing the status quo; allow cross border payment to happen instantly and at no fees into your local bank account or mobile money wallet. Bitcoin is powering the future of money and this partnership highlights a strong use case of what the future will look like,” Parah said.
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| Strike and Bitnob partnership brings Bitcoin Lightning Network payments to Africa |
This development from CoinCenter and Bitnob follows last week's partnership between the U.S.-based Bitcoin payment provider Strike and Bitnob, which will allow users in the U.S. to send money to people in Africa via the Lightning Network.
Nigeria ranks in the top 10 countries for remittance payments, and data from the World Bank shows that Sub-Saharan Africa made up 14.1% of global remittances in 2021. Unfortunately, almost 80% of African countries restrict the type of institutions that are able to offer local banks remittance-related services, which creates barriers to entry for the people who need the service most.
The growing popularity of cryptocurrencies in Africa is seen as a workaround to this issue to go along with a host of other potential use cases for blockchain technology on the continent. A report compiled by the cryptocurrency intelligence firm Chainalysis showed that the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is the fastest-growing region in the world when it comes to the adoption of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies.
