Binance ventures into Uganda with its first ever fiat-crypto exchange
Over the past 24 hours, almost all major cryptocurrencies have plunged into the red. As reported by Cointelegraph, Binance has announced it will open its first ever fiat-crypto exchange in Uganda and this news could explain why Binance Coin (BNB) has fared better than bitcoin and other altcoins. According to industry website CoinMarketCap, BNB remains the 15th largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization with a current price of $14.08 and a total market cap of $1.6bn at the time of writing.
Binance enters the world of fiat-crypto exchanges
Binance’s founder and CEO, Changpeng Zhao, gave an exclusive interview to Cointelegraph during which he outlined his believe that cryptocurrencies have a “very strong” use case in less developed countries such as Uganda. Binance’s official announcement that it would launch Binance Uganda give a strong indication that the company is trying to popularize cryptocurrencies with citizens who lack access to formal bank accounts. According to Zhao, just 11 percent of Ugandans have bank accounts due to various barriers.
Ugandan government open to crypto, says Zhao
According to a study cited by CoinDesk, just over a third of Ugandans ‘actively use’ any type of registered financial accounts, in contrast to Zhao’s claim. Thanks to support from the Ugandan government and regulators, Binance has been able to offer a fiat-crypto trading pair with the Uganda shilling in an expedited manner.
Early adopter reward for Binance Uganda users
Binance is offering a reward of 0.5 Binance Coin (BNB) to each of the first 20,000 registered users on the Binance Uganda platform, according to its official statement. While no date has been announced for the start of trading, Binance Uganda is also offering users one month of zero trading fees, it said. It is believed that these incentives will help increase the popularity of Binance’s new exchange within Uganda.
Effect of Binance Uganda on BNB Price
BNB is the only large cap altcoin (with a total market cap in excess of US$1bn) to have remained relatively unchanged over the past 24 hours. While BNB is down significantly from its January 12 peak of $24.46, it has been climbing steadily since bottoming out at $5.72 on Feburary 6. Studying data from the past 24 hours indicates that the markets have reacted favorably to news that new liquidity could be pumped into cryptos via Binance’s new Ugandan exchange. However, the total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies continues to decline, with over $10bn wiped off the market during the past 24 hours.
Conclusion
Binance Uganda has helped fulfill its CEO’s promise back in April of this year that it would be “creating thousands of jobs and bringing investments to Uganda”. This new platform could help drive investments from the blockchain technology sector in Uganda and throughout East Africa.