Paxful Launches a Series of Webinars on the Resourcefulness of Bitcoin During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Paxful, a peer-to-peer bitcoin (BTC) marketplace, that aims to provide financial inclusion around the globe, launched a series of webinars targeted at positioning bitcoin as a resourceful tool in alleviating the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa.

These webinars are programmed to go on until 18^th June attracting a panel of experts from crypto organizations, NGOs, and bitcoin users in Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa.

Since the coronavirus pandemic began, Paxful has partnered with Non-Governmental Organizations and Social Enterprises across Africa, in generating insights and best practices into how bitcoin can enhance the resilience and recovery process in communities by mitigating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In an ‘Ask-Me-Anything’ session, Artur Schaback, COO, and co-founder of Paxful mentioned that he plans for Paxful to apply innovative technologies to include the 20% margin of Africans experiencing challenges during the online verification process. He revealed that they are looking at GPS technology to onboard more bitcoin users in Africa.

Africa is leading in the number of bitcoin searches and peer-to-peer trading volume. “Africa will become a superpower using peer-peer bitcoin marketplaces. The future is bright causing us to focus on education and building. At Paxful, we need this talent to put all these together. Africa can no longer think of itself as a third world, but a first world country,” said Ray Youssef, CEO, and co-founder of Paxful. Further to leading in bitcoin internet searches, the biggest demographic of people searching crypto or bitcoin marketplaces are the youth, raising the question of how the young population in Kenya and the rest of Africa can use bitcoin as an alternative source of income during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Bitcoin has provided the African continent with an easy peer-to-peer marketplace for young people to venture into entrepreneurship. The COVID-19 pandemic has birthed a new generation of crypto entrepreneurs using bitcoin marketplaces such as Paxful because it simple, free, and has no entry barriers. During this pandemic, transfer and movement of money have been greatly affected. However, this has not affected the movement of money on bitcoin platforms such as Paxful,” said Lucky Uwakwe, Director of Education for BIAN/CDIN (Blockchain Industry Association of Nigeria/cryptography development initiatives of Nigeria).

Paxful has used bitcoin to create a toolkit for supporting young African entrepreneurs in making money during this pandemic. Entrepreneurs now have a roadmap to owning a financial services business where they can transfer and convert money whether by selling or buying in bitcoin. Since transactions are easier and in some cases instant, many more entrepreneurs can now generate wealth and gain a sustainable source of income.

“The business model determines the level of opportunity an entrepreneur has in bitcoin and digital services in the African region. For entrepreneurs with existing businesses, they can use their specific spaces to make money. For instance, entrepreneurs in the education sector can start teaching online courses on bitcoin,” said John Lombela, Managing Director at Cryptovecs (South Africa).

The on-going conversations in the Paxful Africa virtual sessions focus on the philanthropic efforts between bitcoin marketplaces like Paxful and charitable organizations during COVID-19, and the entrepreneurial opportunities presented in the cryptocurrency space.