The provision of financial services to the world’s two billion unbanked is one of the key potential benefits of the cryptocurrency revolution. By this measure the East African country of Uganda, one of the poorest countries in the world, is about as close to the front line as we get. So today’s news that crypto exchange Binance will not only be launching an exchange in the country, but offering trading pairs using the Ugandan Shilling, is excellent news for the growing utility, credibility and reach of digital currencies.
Binance will be offering a range of benefits to the first users of the platform. No fees will be charged for trading for the first month of operation, and the exchange is also giving away 0.5 BNB to the first 20,000 registered users. A token gesture, perhaps, for those in North America or Europe, but nearly a week’s wages for many in the African state where over a third of the population live on less than $1.25 per day.
Over half of all adults in Uganda have access to an account at a bank or financial institution, but only a third use their accounts regularly, and just 16% actually keep savings at the bank. Whilst financial services in the country have come on leaps and bounds in recent years, it is still one of the most underbanked and least developed financial systems in the world. Recent developments in the provision of mobile money platforms have transformed the way in which transactions can take place, but the limitations of such a system are clear.
In this context Binance can have a huge impact on the adoption of digital currencies in the country. The Uganda exchange will be Binance’s first ever fiat platform, and will enable exchange directly from local fiat currency to a wide range of cryptos. And the cost of one Bitcoin in Ugandan Shillings? At time of writing, a cool 22,692,307.
