Last week, global crypto exchange Coinbase and pan-African exchange Yellow Card announced a partnership with a mandate to expand and simplify access to USDC and digital assets in Africa. Through the Yellow Card widget, Coinbase Wallet customers have access to Yellow Card’s network of payment methods across 20 African countries including Botswana.
Additionally, as part of the partnership, Yellow Card customers will be able to transfer and receive USD Coin (USDC), the second-largest stablecoin by market cap, using Coinbase's Base chain. This Layer 2 solution offers faster transaction speeds and cheaper fees compared to the ERC-20 network.
"Coinbase Wallet customers in Botswana will soon be able to directly credit their wallets with digital assets using local payment methods with low fees," Yellow Card's country manager for Botswana, Keletso Thopego, told BW TechZone. "The benefit for customers who prefer to hold digital currencies or use them on DeFi platforms and have a Coinbase Wallet, is that they will be able to buy digital currencies directly in the wallet thanks to our widget, while still enjoying the benefits of the Yellow Card platform."
In September 2022, Yellow Card received Africa's first crypto trading license, the Virtual Asset Service Provider licence, from the Non-Bank Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority [NBFIRA].