Leading cryptocurrency exchange, Binance has announced plans to establish its presence in South Africa, starting with the launch of a fiat gateway in the country. The development was disclosed in a pre-recorded message by the CEO, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), at the ongoing Blockchain Africa Conference (BAC) 2020.
Once launched, residents in the country will be able to purchase and trade cryptocurrencies using their national currency, Rand (ZAR).
“Our mission is to increase the freedom of money globally. Africa leads in potential with crypto adoption,” according to Tanya Knowles, who was appointed by CZ as the Binance Country Manager for SA.
Tanya previously worked as a Business Manager in a South African liquidity management company, Adhara, with rich experience in blockchain and digital assets. She has also served as the SA ambassador to the Global Blockchain Business Council.
Moving forward, the exchange said it would be providing a fiat gate that will support at least 150 cryptocurrencies, alongside low transaction fees, five trading pairs which include BTC/ZAR, BNB/ZAR, ETH/ZAR, USDT/ZAR, and BUSD/ZAR, and access to other Binance products.
In addition to launching a fiat gateway for South Africans, Binance Charity Foundation said it would donate $1,000,000 to support the growth and advancement of blockchain education in the country.
Binance Set to Dominate Africa
The cryptocurrency exchange has been widening its dominance across several countries in Africa, in its core mission of promoting the freedom of money around the world, through blockchain technology and digital currencies.
In October 2019, Binance launched a fiat gateway for the Nigerian Naira (NGN) through a partnership payment processor, Flutterwave. This enabled direct fiat-to-crypto trading pairs for Nigerians; however, they were opened to three trading pairs, BTC/NGN, BUSD/NGN, and BNB/NGN.
In February 2020, the exchange adjusted the fiat-to-crypto bank deposit fees with Naira to a fixed price of 150 NGN ($0.41 ) for bank transfer deposits. Initially, the exchange charged 1.4% charge per transaction.
