Mambo! 👋! Ripple strategically invested in Flutterwave, a move that strengthened the thesis we have been building: stablecoins in Africa may not arrive as new standalone crypto apps.
They will arrive inside the fintech platforms people already use.
The story
Ripple strategically invested in Flutterwave’s Series E to accelerate stablecoin powered payments across Africa.
This marks Flutterwave’s sixth stablecoin partnership this year, meaning Ripple’s stablecoin will not arrive through a new standalone app. It will run inside Africa’s most valuable fintech, a platform already serving millions of businesses.
That is the thesis we have been tracking for two months, confirmed again.
Deals
When shutting down, the founder said the product worked, but distribution was the bigger challenge. Interestingly, Chimoney kept its FINTRAC MSB license active for potential future use instead of shutting it down.
The company had many things stablecoin startups are now chasing: Techstars backing, payment infrastructure, and Canadian licensing, a path now followed by Juicyway, Zuniq, Fincra, Wewire, Grey, and Wapi Pay.
Launches
Kenyan cross border payments fintech Wapi Pay secured a Canadian MSB license, allowing it to offer FX, money transfer, and virtual currency services.
A few weeks ago we mentioned a pattern: Africa focused stablecoin fintechs are registering in Canada as they prepare to scale globally.
Wapi Pay is now another example.
Regulation
Nigeria’s Senate advanced the Virtual Asset Service Providers Regulation Bill to create clear rules for crypto and digital asset companies.
The bill focuses on licensing, protecting users, and making crypto companies operate under proper supervision.
The question is becoming less about whether crypto will exist, and more about who will be allowed to build.
Madini
The original disruption story said stablecoins would kill banks and existing fintechs. Users would move. Everything would change.
That is not what is happening.
If a bank or fintech switches from traditional settlement rails to stablecoin rails, the customer relationship does not disappear. Only the technology moving the money changes. The institutions that adapt keep their customers. The ones that refuse to adapt are the ones at risk, not from stablecoins directly, but from competitors who quietly got faster and cheaper while they stood still.
From inside
The African cross border payments game.
On the record
“People want outcomes, not tokens.”
— Benjamin Fernandes, Founder & CEO, NALA .
Written from inside Africa with love 🇹🇿💚