Paxful CEO on Bitcoin usage in Africa and its emerging market future
In a great piece by Matt Alhborg, he dubbed Paxful “the most important bitcoin company you aren’t paying attention to.”
Paxful is one of the largest peer-to-peer exchanges in the world and has established a fascinating global remittance economy using a unique blend of bitcoin, gift cards, and just about every other form of payment you can think of. In 2019, Paxful facilitated $1.6 Billion in global trading volume while hosting over 3 million wallets, 45% of which are from users in Africa.
Paxful itself does not connect to bank accounts for transactions but rather, acts as a supervising authority over peers who use accounts to trade amongst themselves. This unique set-up allows Paxful to service unbanked populations who among other things, are using the platform for cross-border remittances in growing numbers.
How a Paxful remittance works
A Nigerian immigrant can walk into any convenience store in the US and purchase an Amazon gift card with cash. Gift cards feature redemption codes that can be transferred with a simple picture, allowing him to transfer the gift card to a family member in Nigeria over WhatsApp.
At this point, the family member logs on to Paxful and sells the gift card redemption codes to a buyer in exchange for Bitcoin. Next, the family member finds someone else on Paxful with a Nigerian bank account willing to buy her bitcoin. Once a buyer is found, the family member transfers the bitcoin and the buyer sends Nigerian Naira to her bank account. The remittance is complete.
This entire process takes about 30 minutes and according to Paxful CEO Ray Youssef, exemplifies Bitcoin’s true killer app as a universal translator and transporter of money within global peer-to-peer finance.
Today’s Unqualified Opinions
Today’s podcast with Ray Youssef covers his path to founding Paxful after immigrating to New York from Egypt, founding 2 successful startups and 11 failed ones, becoming temporarily homeless and eventually finding his way to bitcoin. He details how Bitcoin is moving beyond a speculative instrument and returning to its roots with payments, e-commerce and wealth preservation in emerging markets. Lastly, he predicts that peer-to-peer bitcoin transactions will eclipse typical exchange volume within two years and that crypto’s future is African.
Don't miss this one.
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