In Africa crypto news this week, payment processing giant Mastercard announced expanding its partnership with Circle for global digital settlements using USDC. Like Tether USDT, USDC is one of the most popular and allows for cheap, instantaneous global value transfers.
Meanwhile, in Kenya, InVastor launched an educational program targeting political stakeholders and leaders. Over the past few years, Kenya has been making steps to create regulatory clarity on crypto. The Virtual Asset Service Providers Bill (VASP) is being considered in parliament and may eventually be enacted into law.
Meanwhile, the international law enforcement organization Interpol conducted a major operation to seize fraudulent Bitcoin and crypto mining operations across the continent. Crypto mining is energy-intensive, and in regions where priority is on powering essential services, like healthcare, it can be challenging to run a farm.
Let’s explore the stories making continental headlines this week:
International credit and debit card service provider Mastercard has expanded its partnership with Circle to facilitate payments in the Middle East, Africa, and Eastern Europe.
This deal will enable Mastercard users in these regions to settle transactions using USDC, allowing them to buy even some of the top Solana meme coins. The payment processor and card issuer leverage their trusted global infrastructure for this initiative.
Stablecoins offer a relatively safe way to handle crypto, as their values are pegged to stable assets like the USD and the Euro. Mastercard benefits by linking blockchain-native assets with traditional fiat systems, providing advantages for crypto users, including holders.
(Source: TradingView SOL USDT)
Dimitry Dosis, president of the Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa region, described the benefits of the partnership as follows:
“This is a key move for Mastercard. Our strategic goal is to integrate stablecoins into the financial mainstream by investing in infrastructure, governance, and partnerships to support this exciting payment evolution from fiat to tokenized and programmable money. Through our expanded partnership with Circle, we are taking bold steps to integrate their innovative solutions across our global network.”
This news marks a major milestone for the blockchain sector, moving away from its early reputation as a hub for fringe assets toward mainstream adoption.
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Digital finance platform InVastor has announced an educational initiative targeting lawmakers in Kenya. The program provides lawmakers at various government levels with small amounts of crypto to manage as part of their portfolios and guidance on handling digital assets, including some of the best cryptos to buy, like Bitcoin and .
