Kenyans Can Now Buy and Sell Crypto Through Paxful's P2P Marketplace

Paxful has partnered with Kenya-based remittance network BitLipa to allow users to buy and sell bitcoin and the tether stablecoin.

AccessTimeIconDec 10, 2020 at 1:47 p.m. UTC
Updated Sep 14, 2021 at 10:41 a.m. UTC
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Peer-to-peer digital asset marketplace Paxful has partnered with remittance network BitLipa to allow Kenyan users to buy and sell bitcoin (BTC) and the tether (USDT) stablecoin.

  • Announced Thursday, the arrangement mean BitLipa's app serves a fiat currency on-ramp to Paxful's service. 
  • Paxful said 45% of its active users hail from Africa, while in Kenya specifically the company’s trading volumes are on the rise.
  • The marketplace said it had reached over 108 million Kenyan shillings ($969 million) in trading volume in November.
  • The crypto service may soon be offered more widely. BitLipa, which is based in Nairobi, is currently working on expanding to Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Ghana. Ultimately, it aims to "integrate all of Africa and Middle East mobile money networks" by mid 2021.
  • “Through the partnership, we are focused on reaching an estimated 60% of the African population that is unbanked, and equipping them with the right financial tools,” said Apollo Omer, CEO of BitLipa.

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