Bitpesa launches China-Africa Bitcoin cross-border instant payment service, Bitcoin brings China-Africa relations closer

The latest move to connect China and Africa through digital currency has been launched by Kenyan bitcoin startup Bitpesa, which has been working to enable African businesses to use bitcoin for payments to China.

Bitpesa’s China program, which officially launched this month, allows users from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria and Congo to make online payments to its Asian customers — specifically China, Africa’s largest trading partner.

Bitpesa's service makes it possible to pay employees, distributors or suppliers without using cash or the US dollar as a central currency.

The World Bank says China-Africa trade was estimated at $220 billion in 2016, compared with just $170 billion in 2013.

Before this, although there have been some Central African crypto projects, none is as direct as Bitpesa.

Earlier this year, Chinese bitcoin mining company Bitmain invested $1.6 million in Shenzhen-based Bikan, which aims to provide a bitcoin trading platform for global users, especially in immature bitcoin markets such as Africa.

In September, a subsidiary of the Bank of China (BOC) was officially established in Mauritius, a company that the bank sees as having the potential to become the continent’s ‘Silicon Valley of Blockchain’.

Bitcoin is also considered a medium of exchange between China and African countries, such as Ethiopia, where international transactions for the purchase of raw materials have increased significantly recently. In order to save foreign exchange, cross-border transfers of assets are needed.

In this regard, another Bitcoin exchange, BitX, also has a wide service network coverage in Africa and has direct links with some Asian countries. BitX's operating coverage includes South Africa, Nigeria, as well as Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.

However, the introduction of digital currency regulation is also a key theme that is now creating a form of competition on the continent. However, most African governments remain wary of digital currencies.

For example, Bitpesa founder Elizabeth Rossiello hinted at a lack of collaboration between Kenyan regulators and blockchain players at a recent blockchain working meeting held in Nairobi by the Consortium for Automated Legal Applications (CALA).

Elizabeth Rossiello

However, this lack of cooperation could change next year if Uganda and Nigeria take action on the possibility of regulating digital currencies like Bitcoin, and we could see similar Bitcoin services expand between China and Africa.