The African Perspective to the Web3 Buzz | BanklessAfrica Newsletter
This is BanklessAfrica Newsletter, a newsletter that helps you stay up to date with well-curated news about crypto and Web3 around Africa.
Hey Bankless fam!
With bitcoin stabilised at 20k USD, what’s your bear market strategy? Are you buying, learning, researching or building?
If you are buying, remember - During bear markets, cash is king and everything is on sale, but as we say, this is not a financial advice. However, these golden tenets hold true in all market cycles:
Only invest what you can afford to lose.
Do your research before buying a coin or token — and after!
Make sure you're storing your funds in a secure place, like a hardware wallet.
If you are building, according to Messari's Crypto Thesis for 2022, these are the 3 underdeveloped areas: NFT infrastructure, DAO tooling and inter-bridge protocols.
For this week’s main editorial, we delve into an African’s perceptive to Web3.
We'll also be exploring how Zimbabwe's reserve bank is introducing gold coins and why more than 4 million Kenyans own crypto — the highest share in Africa.
Finally, we'll learn Web3 Solidity and Blockchain.
It's all here, so let's get started!
Welkom (Welcome)
Contributors: Cinammon, Miss Purple, annointing Thompson, Oge, Paulito, Ab colours, Winverse, Yofi.
📈 Historical Snapshots
As of July 11, 2022
Top 3 Assets by Market Cap
Name: Bitcoin (BTC) Price: $20,423.64 Market Cap: $389,442,306,529
Name: Ethereum (ETH) Price: $1,139.43 Market Cap: $138,252,497,282
Name: Tether (USDT) Price: $0.9994 Market Cap: $65,947,422,984
The African Perspective to the Web3 Buzz
Author: Cinammon
As an African, crypto & Web3 were and continue to be a lot to take in. Web3, which was originally called the Semantic Web, seems to be the new paradigm of the future, often referred to by many as the biggest evolutionary step of the internet. All manner of explanations as to what Web3 entails are scattered on the internet, there does not seem to be a single solid one, making it difficult for the average person using the web to figure out what it all means. There have been advancements in technologies and communities already, which some people have since embraced, but not in an actual sense that an average African has felt or been able to fully experience and therefore understand.
We already use the internet quite heavily, at least on the global scale, often from the small devices we call phones; phones commonly serve multiple functions ranging from accessing social tools, information, learning how and eventually successfully completing trades to name a few. This new Web3 technology push comes with ample opportunities & a radical globalism that can often be accessed from that very phone, however, for many it also comes coupled with an intense ‘fear of missing out’ (FOMO). Without fully understanding the system and how each element works - or is supposed to work - some people have essentially accepted the possibility of Web3, not because they understand it but because they do not want to be caught left footed as they probably did with crypto. To understand Web3, there needs to be some kind of acknowledgement of Webs 1 & 2, which many were not privy to until now, further hindering their understanding of Web3.
What is it? Is it even real?
It is easy to mistake Web3 with the metaverse as these are both buzzwords that seemed to start circulating at around the same time; while the metaverse is related to Web3, Web3 is not confined to only existing in the virtual element of the metaverse. These questions arise and can be deemed valid questions because there isn’t much comprehensible data out there, or even an explanation as to what exactly the metaverse and Web3 are, how the common folk can access them etc; that collation of information is sorely needed. People want to know if Web3 is going to alter their routines, they want to know if they will be able to grasp enough about it, that they do not find themselves thrown out of the space due to a lack of web literacy.
As Africans, we tend to feel like the last to catch up on the latest developments, latest discoveries and techniques, while the rest of the world has already made major advancements in the relevant areas. This article will not also be complete without putting out the fact that “web3” and the “opportunities” have been married in several articles, job postings and titles. There is a continuous increase in job opportunities within Web3, this raises more questions as young Africans look to the new opportunities as means to make their living; our education is a forced one, one of survival and absolute resilience, we find ourselves needing to learn and understand Web3, in order to know how to best apply ourselves in the space. Africans with jobs in Web2 are also just as curious to know if they would still be able to continue their lines of work if they were to switch, many are wondering whether they have to return to formal education in order to learn about this new emerging paradigm shift.
Is Web3 here to stay? Is it safe and reliable?
Web3, albeit still heavily misunderstood, is believed to favour freedom, democracy and ownership above all else; to the average African, the biggest concern is that this could only open more doors for cybercrimes, which were already quite high in Web2. Cybersecurity attacks increased by 31% from 2020 to 2021, according to Accenture's "State of Cybersecurity Resilience 2021" report, one can then understand why the safety question is more than justified. With the Web3 ‘trend’ seemingly picking up speed post-COVID, there continue to be many questions on whether it is here to stay or if it is here merely for the thrill of it all. With the challenge of technology’s scalability still being as imminent as it was in Web1 and Web2, along with the question of reliable access for many African communities, this safety question seems the most concerning.
Today, with a large portion of Web3’s functionality being dependent on Web2 infrastructure, the questions that once faced Web2 have simply been directed to the former. Is there something in Web3 or is it just an extension of the dark side of Web2, or maybe it’s just a very expensive large-scale silicon valley experiment?
CONCLUSION
Although some have already embraced Web3 along with the hopes and promises it has come to stand for, there are also those who don’t think the switch is either necessary or that its emergence will bring about any good for the people of the continent; many see this as another way to usurp what little grander Africans have already built for themselves. Maybe with time, it will be more generally accepted if there were more openly available answers in response to the rising questions around Web3. The space is a relatively new one that is still growing, there is still a much longer list of questions that are yet to be answered.
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📰 News & Opinion In and Around Africa
World Mobile Wraps 39m USD Token Sale to Launch Mesh Mesh Network in Zanzibar
Author: SANDALI HANDAGAMA
A utility token launched on the Cardano blockchain, World Mobile Token, intended to raise an additional $40 million to their existing $5 million which was raised privately, they have so far raised over $39 million; the intention is to invest it in the building of a mesh network project in Zanzibar, Tanzania.
The World Mobile group intends to reachout to rural communities, specifically in Africa for now, who are often ignored by traditional telecommunication service providers when it comes to solving connection issues.
Currently, the World Mobile group has started sending equipment for operation to over 25 sites in Zanzibar Tanzania, to grant over 100,000 people faster & more reliable access to the internet.
Zimbabwe Reserve Bank Introduces Gold Coins
Author: KODZILLA
In a bid to salvage the economy, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe introduced the Mosi-Oa-Tunya Gold coin, a name which references Victoria Falls in meaning ‘Smoke that Thunders’.
The gold coin is being introduced as a solution for people to use as a store of value, helping the Reserve Bank minimise the impacts of inflation on the layman. This 22-carat coin can be easily converted to fiat, used as security for loans and traded both locally & internationally; each one will have a unique serial number with which it can be identified.
The Governor of the Reserve Bank says the coins will be available to the public in both US dollar, local Zim dollar and other foreign currencies, at a price yet to be determined by the global price of gold.
UN: Over 4 million Kenyans own crypto, highest share in Africa
Author: ELIZABETH KIVUVA
According to a report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), 4.25 million people, or 8.5% of Kenya’s population, are cryptocurrency owners.
With only 8.3% of its population possessing digital currencies, the United States, one of the more developed economies, falls to sixth place, behind Kenya which placed fifth.
According to the United Nations, Kenya has the highest percentage of its populace using cryptocurrencies in Africa because of the recent vulnerability of the global markets, leading young traders to seek quick financial returns. It also relates closely to the low cost and high speed of processing remittance transfers, which are an important part of the Kenyan economy.
Other African countries in the top 20 percentile for digital currency ownership include South Africa in 9th with 7.1% and Nigeria in 10th with 6.3%.
African infrastructure firm lands $150M to launch crypto water token
Author: BRIAN NEWAR
The South African based H20 Securities, which is a new water supply infrastructure system powered by cryptocurrencies, has secured $150 million from the GEM Digital investment company through the sale of the H20N token.
By investing such a sizable sum, GEM Digital, a $3.4 billion Bahamas based investment company that specializes in alternative investments like digital assets and resource extraction equipment, will hold H20N tokens, which will be used to direct funding for water delivery infrastructure in areas that have insufficient access to fresh water.
Service bills between H20N network service providers & other participants, such as water plant operators and their customers, will be settled using the H20N token; it is said that this will drastically decrease lead to service delivery time, which would be a big improvement when compared to the more traditional methods.
Central African Republic (CAR) Launches Sango Coin Backed by Bitcoin
Author: KODZILLA
The CAR's president detailed plans to use bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies at the genesis ceremony of Project Sango, the ceremony included the official introduction of the Sango Coin to the public.
The Sango Crypto Hub initiative of the Central African Republic (CAR) was ultimately launched in a ceremony attended by the president, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, and other senior government officials.
President Touadéra of the Central African Republic (CAR) says the Sango Coin will serve as the ‘[global] portal to the natural resources of the Central African Republic,’ he goes on to say that it is the next generation currency for the country.
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