Techpoint Africa blockchain summit begins today
Techpoint Africa will host their Blockchain Summit today in Lagos.
The summit will bring together policy experts and entrepreneurs to discuss the global blockchain, cryptocurrencies and their future use in Africa. The conference will specifically focus on Web3, the theoretical next evolution of the Internet involving independent, decentralized data owned by individual users. Speakers will look at best use emerging blockchain technologies like cryptocurrencies and NFTs to stimulate business and growth.
Cryptocurrency use in Africa has skyrocketed over the last year, increasing by over 1200% from 2020-2021. Its existence outside established financial systems allow funds to transfer swiftly and cheaply across international markets. Africans living abroad use this to send money back home while small businesses have used it to finance development projects.
While both technologies show promise to serve underdeveloped markets, widespread adoption is still far off. Short-term, today’s summit will likely discuss blockchain’s role in facilitating small scale transactions and fund developments. Long-term, blockchain and Web3 could play an important role in catapulting African economic development by embracing emerging tech and deterring corruption, with transparent ledger-based transactions cutting out compromised institutions. However, this is not guaranteed and any reliance on blockchain comes with security and regulatory risks.
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