Nigeria’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima, has launched the AI Expertise Blockchain and Technology Training and Outsourcing Initiative in Jigawa, aiming to make Nigeria a digital tech leader in Africa.
Partnering with Gluwa, the program will train 1,000 Nigerians annually in AI and blockchain.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has also introduced a 150,000 naira ($90) grant for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to boost the local fintech sector. Shettima clarified that this grant is non-repayable.
Shettima also inaugurated the 4th edition of the Expanded National MSMEs Clinic to support small businesses across Nigeria.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s crypto regulations have tightened. In May, Tinubu banned peer-to-peer crypto trading with the naira to prevent currency devaluation.
The SEC, led by Emomotimi Agama, has restricted Binance’s naira transactions and trading, filing charges of tax evasion and money laundering against the exchange and its executives.
Despite these restrictions, cryptocurrency trading in Nigeria remains strong, with volumes increasing 9% to $56.7 billion from July 2022 to June 2023.
The XRP Ledger (XRPL) has officially launched its Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) sidechain on mainnet — marking a major milestone in its effort to bridge XRP’s payment efficiency with Ethereum’s smart contract capabilities.
The first week of July brings several important developments in the United States that could influence both traditional markets and the cryptocurrency sector.
Ric Edelman, one of the most influential voices in personal finance, has radically revised his stance on crypto allocation. After years of cautious optimism, he now believes that digital assets deserve a far larger share in investment portfolios than ever before.
In the case involving Terraform Labs and its co-founder Do Hyeong Kwon, the defense has asked the Federal Court for the Southern District of New York to extend the deadline for pretrial filings by two weeks, pushing it beyond the original date of July 1, 2025.