Bitcoin mining giant invests in African Bitcoin exchange

Bitcoin processing group BitFury has announced fresh investment in African Bitcoin platform BitPesa, a 'secure, transparent and trusted form of exchange,' which enables payment connections between Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda and Tanzania and subsequently exchanges Bitcoin for local currencies. BitPesa aims to provide 'unfettered access to the benefits of the global economy', signalling increased interest in the use of Bitcoin blockchain in Africa.

BitFury Group, the bitcoin mining giant and transaction processing company, announced today that it has made an investment in the Africa focused firm, BitPesa. The "strategic investment", as BitFury refers to it, was made by its investment arm BitFury Capital for an undisclosed sum as of now.

The service enables sending Payments Payments One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl Read this Term to and from Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, and Tanzania. BitPesa accepts bitcoin and exchanges it for local African currencies, which are then deposited into African bank accounts or mobile money wallets. It also sells bitcoin in Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda.

“Our mission is to make global transacting easier, especially for those who continue to face obstacles to financial growth,” said Valery Vavilov, CEO of BitFury. “A secure, transparent and trusted form of exchange is being made possible by BitPesa, and our investment will allow us to work together to leverage the innovative power of the Bitcoin Blockchain Blockchain Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Read this Term for the benefit of the entire pan-African continent.”

BitPesa, which is licensed by the FCA as an Authorized Payment Institution, uses bitcoin to exchange directly between African currencies and other global currencies, reducing the dependency on using the U.S. dollar as an intermediary.

“It has been great to have the support of the BitFury Group, who work extremely hard to build community amongst companies working with bitcoin, large and small,” said Elizabeth Rossiello, CEO of BitPesa. “Valery and his team have a long history working in frontier markets and nothing is more important to our team than an understanding and support of the work we do.”