Crypto exchange Yellow Card gets green light to trade in Botswana

Yellow Card Financial, a pan- African cryptocurrency exchange, has secured a licence for trading in Botswana, the first company on the continent to do so.

The Polychain- backed crypto exchange’s operating licence may open up greater channels for expansion and access to payment partners, banking and clients across the continent, CEO and founder Chris Maurice said in a statement.

“This opens up greater channels of expansion with regards to payment partners, banking and expanding our client base across Africa. This will further show regulators in other markets that we are not just any other cryptocurrency company — we are pioneering, pushing boundaries and setting the standard. All the more reason for them to work together with us as well,” he said.

The virtual asset service provider was issued on September 29 and is expected to become the standard for crypto operations in the country. More African nations are working to establish legislation to regulate the use of cryptocurrency and other digital assets in the financial markets. SA has introduced rules to tighten oversight of the industry and to protect customers.

Yellow Card will target the unbanked population in Botswana, a leading diamond producer, where the majority of the population does not have payslips and therefore do not have bank accounts, it said. Bloomberg