British cryptocurrency exchange CoinCorner has enabled users to send fiat transfers from the UK and the EU to Africa, using Bitcoin and the Lightning Network for micropayments.
CoinCorner customers can now “Send Globally” from the UK and Europe to Africa, using #Bitcoin and the Lightning Network 🌍⚡️
We’ve partnered with @Bitnob_official to facilitate cross-border transactions from the UK and Europe to Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana.https://t.co/ves2EtrSKs
— CoinCorner ⚡️ Buy Bitcoin at CoinCorner.com (@CoinCorner) December 12, 2022
Bitnob was the partner in delivering the Send Globally service.
The app lets users send GBP or EUR to Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana directly to a bank account.
Client funds used with Send Globally are converted into Bitcoin and sent via the Lightning Network to Bitnob. The latter immediately converts them into the corresponding local currency: naira (NGN), shillings (KES) or cedi (GHS).
CoinCorner noted that, for these three countries, the UK alone accounts for about £12 billion in annual transfers.
“The remittance market is a huge opportunity for Bitcoin. The cross-border nature of cryptocurrency makes it an excellent tool for sending fiat around the world. With the Lightning Network this happens instantly and at a very low cost,” said CoinCorner CEO Danny Scott.
Bitnob head Bernard Para reminded that sub-Saharan African countries remain among the most expensive regions for money transfers. According to World Bank data for the end of 2020, sending $200 there cost on average 8.2% of the amount.
“Bitcoin provides the future of money, and our partnership demonstrates a compelling example of what it will look like,” Para added.
In November, the developers fixed a critical bug in the Lightning Network, which caused a network outage.
In October, Bitmatrix founder Burak Kedjeli deliberately exploited a bug, performing a complex multisig-transaction, knowing that it would disrupt node operation.
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