By Susie Violet Ward · Forbes · 1 March 2024
Jack Mallers announced that Strike was expanding its bitcoin services to Gabon, Ivory Coast, Malawi, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia. Mallers said “Strike Africa is just the beginning” and that the company would launch new regions throughout 2024. The service was to offer local fiat on and off-ramps, buying and selling of bitcoin and USDT, cross-border payments, business accounts, an API for developers and a personalised service, Strike Private.
The article places the launch alongside other developments across the continent, including a planned $250 million bitcoin mining and AI data centre in Ethiopia and grassroots education led by advocates such as Anita Posch of Bitcoin for Fairness. It points to Africa’s young population, citing an average age of 18.8 at the time, and to companies such as Paxful and AZA Finance, formerly BitPesa, which used bitcoin for cross-border transfers in 2013.