Top Stories: Binance Suspends Nigerian Naira Services in Regulatory Standoff
The top stories we are following today, March 6, 2024, include Binance's suspension of Naira services, TikTok's Creator Rewards program for longer videos, Qatar's plans to invest $1 billion in VC funds, India's partnership with the Philippines and other tech industry happenings.
- Binance Suspends Nigerian Naira Services in Regulatory Standoff
- TikTok Launches Creator Rewards Program for Longer Videos
- Google Grants Reprieve to Delisted Apps in India
- Qatar Plans to Invest $1 Billion in Venture Capital Funds
- India and Philippines Forge Partnership in Tech, Finance and Startup Sectors
- Bitstamp Becomes the First European Crypto Exchange to Operate in Singapore
- Nigerian Fintech Company Brass to Temporarily Disengage Workers Amidst Economic Woes
Binance Suspends Nigerian Naira Services in Regulatory Standoff
Popular cryptocurrency exchange Binance is scaling back operations in Nigeria, following increased scrutiny from Nigerian authorities who claim crypto exchanges like Binance are disrupting the country's foreign exchange market.
Emmanuel Oyedeji
In an official announcement, Binance stated it would halt all services involving the Nigerian Naira (NGN) by the 8th of March, affecting its over 10 million P2P payment users in the country. As earlier reported, the Nigerian Central Bank (CBN) had blocked access to Binance's website and detained staff members. Binance denies any wrongdoing but has opted to suspend NGN services to "streamline operations."
Loy Okezie
This will significantly impact Nigerian users, who will no longer be able to deposit or trade directly with their local currency. Existing Naira balances will be automatically converted to a stablecoin, Tether (USDT). – David Adubiina
Content Partner
TikTok Launches Creator Rewards Program for Longer Videos
TikTok is shaking things up with a brand new monetization program called the Creator Rewards Program. This initiative marks a significant shift for the popularly known bite-sized video platform to specifically target creators who craft videos exceeding one minute in length.
Something to note is the total creator revenue has increased by over 250% within the last 6 months, and the number of creators making $50,000 each month nearly doubled” since the beta began. To incentivize creators, the program rewards are based on factors like originality, video watch time, search ranking potential, and audience engagement.
A clear effort by TikTok to compete with YouTube, another popular platform known for longer-form content. While the success of the Creator Rewards Program remains to be seen, it signifies a strategic move by TikTok to retain creators and diversify its content offerings. – David Adubiina
Google Grants Reprieve to Delisted Apps in India
In a surprising turn of events, Google has agreed to temporarily reinstate apps delisted from the Play Store in India, following a meeting between India's IT Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, and representatives from Google and the Indian startup community.
Although details remain unclear, the reinstatement applies specifically to developers with appeals pending in the Supreme Court indicating a potential compromise that allows continued operation while legal proceedings take place.
While Google maintains its right to enforce its Play Store policies they have extended payment deadlines for the affected companies. The move is seen as a positive step towards a long-term solution, though discussions regarding Play Store policies and fees are likely to continue in the coming months. – David Adubiina
Qatar Plans to Invest $1 Billion in Venture Capital Funds
Qatar, in a Web Summit that was held on Monday, announced plans to invest $1 billion in both regional and international venture capital funds.
The aim is to attract better venture capital funding and more tech startups into Qatar and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, with a main focus on the Fintech, EdTech, and healthcare sectors.
Qatar, which in 2022 invested over $73 billion across various asset classes together with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, believes that by making these targeted investments, there will be more VC funding and startups in the country, which will narrow the gap between it and its Middle Eastern counterparts. – Henry Chikwem
India and Philippines Forge Partnership in Tech, Finance and Startup Sectors
India has decided to extend a hand of collaboration to the Philippines, as on Tuesday, the India-Philippine Tech Summit was launched to promote technology and foster digital partnerships in Manila, the Philippine capital.
India, with a population of 1.4 billion people, believes that by partnering with the Philippines, they can both develop exponentially and witness improved security and better diplomatic ties between both nations.
The Summit, which was a success, saw in attendance over 300 participants from agriculture and healthcare organizations alongside "Indian Unicorns" with valuations of over $1 billion. – Henry Chikwem
Bitstamp Becomes the First European Crypto Exchange to Operate in Singapore
Bitstamp has become the first crypto exchange with a European presence to receive the Major Payment Institution (MPI) license to operate in Singapore.
This comes after Bitstamp was given conditional approval by the Singaporean government to operate within the country in adherence to the stipulated requirements.
The popular crypto exchange company, with over 5 million customers globally, is set to offer digital payment token services and to serve financial institutions and intermediaries, such as payment processors, Fintechs, and brokerages. The last crypto exchange company that was issued the MPI license before Bitstamp was Upbit, South Korea’s largest crypto exchange with 8.9 million users. – Henry Chikwem
Nigerian Fintech Company Brass to Temporarily Disengage Workers Amidst Economic Woes
The company, which was launched in 2020, has said that it is unable to cope with the prevailing economic realities. As of today, it is unknown how many out of its 50 employees will be temporarily withdrawn from all activities within the company.
Brass plans to give support to all the affected workers and to provide reference calls to those who will need it for other opportunities elsewhere.
The company with over 5000 customers provides financial services as a solution to payment problems faced by small-scale enterprises and has multiple investors from various companies such as Flutterwave and Paystack within the country. – Henry Chikwem
– Editing by Emmanuel Oyedeji and Loy Okezie
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