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Crypto Startup Reaching Real Africans with Ethereum Micropayments

CoinDesk Daily is sponsored by  June 11, 2018 "Every mountain top is within reach if you just keep climbing."  – Barry Finlay Got this from a friend? SUBSCRIBE HERE THE FEATURE Crypto Startup Wala Is Reaching Real Africans with Ethereum Micropayments In several countries throughout Africa, citizens are spending an average of 27 cents to top up their mobile airtime, and they're using a crypto token to do it. That might sound strange to many in the crypto industry, since the vision of today's blockchains allowing the movement of millions of microtransactions across the globe has proven a challenging one to reach. Yet, a South Africa startup, Wala, is proving that a little ingenuity and an effective embrace of a nascent technology can make cryptocurrency a better payment mechanism than any of the traditional options many citizens of African nations currently have. "We really believe cryptocurrency is what is going to drive a financial revolution in Africa," said Tricia Martinez, the CEO of Wala, which raised $1.2 million selling ethereum-based "dala" tokens in an initial coin offering (ICO) in April. And it seems like that is starting to play out. Read more Tweet Share ⭐ CoinDesk Weekly Sponsor ⭐   Your Data. Your Life In the current system, your personal data is sourced, held, used and swapped by third-party providers. The Pillar Project is an ambitious project to return ownership of personal data to you. We do this through decentralized blockchain technology, starting with a token wallet. Learn More Wait, there's more: What Would Happen to Crypto In a Global Market Meltdown? CoinDesk advisory board director Michael Casey takes a look at the state of investor psychology as it relates to the crypto markets today. Swiss City Plans Blockchain Voting Pilot Using Ethereum-Based IDs The Swiss City of Zug is launching a pilot that will allow residents to vote electronically, with both polling system and IDs based on blockchain. CFTC Demands Crypto Exchange Data In Market Investigation The U.S. regulator has subpoenaed four crypto exchanges to submit trading data as part of an investigation into market manipulation. $6K Next? Bitcoin Bear Market Back After 10% Drop Bitcoin's drop below $7,000 signals a resumption of the sell-off from the record highs in December, according to technical studies. Lithuania Issues Guidelines for When ICO Tokens Are Securities Lithuania's Ministry of Finance has published guidance on ICOs, outlining how different aspects of token offerings should be regulated. Crypto Startup Wala Is Reaching Real Africans with Ethereum Micropayments Wala is using microraiden for high volume, low-value transactions off-chain. 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Go to CoinDesk We're taking Consensus on the road      Join us on September 18-20 at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore for the first international Consensus event.  We're excited to join TechXLR8 Asia and their multiple events, including IoT World Asia, 5G Asia, the AI Summit and more.  Get your ticket to Consensus: Singapore or the full TechXLR8 experience and join us in September. Register now.  BTC: $6,749.53  -0.24%  ETH: $534.58  +1.67% 8:26 AM EST - More price details 👋 JOBS IN BLOCKCHAIN 👋 Thinking of joining the blockchain sector? Already here, but looking for a change? Check out CoinDesk's careers board for opportunities in companies of all sizes, covering a range of areas and expertise.  Copyright © 2018 CoinDesk, All rights reserved. You're receiving this email because you subscribed for updates on our website. Our mailing address is: CoinDesk 636 Avenue of the Americas New York City, NY 10011 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? 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