A recent announcement from Xend Finance noted that the company was beginning to enable the use of the Kenyan Shilling and the Ghanaian Cedi for transactions on its mobile app. The company allows users to convert fiat currency into stablecoins or other digital assets, mainly as a way to hedge inflation, which is rampant in sub-Saharan Africa.
“As more and more fintech firms expand, they are developing ways to ensure that citizens from all corners of the world are able to participate in the digital economy. One of the significant things about the blockchain movement is the ability to get so many from within the unbanked population into a modern banking system for the first time,” said Richard Gardner, CEO of Modulus, a US-based developer of ultra-high-performance trading and surveillance technology that powers global equities, derivatives, and digital asset exchanges.
“Expanding services to accept the Cedi and Shilling allows local customers an easier path into cryptocurrency, as it removes a barrier to entry. The ability to purchase directly from your native fiat currency eliminates the added step of finding an external currency exchange. As more and more exchanges and companies expand those fiat currencies accepted, the better off the community is, and the more people who will be able to easily participate,” said Gardner.
“What we want here, in this industry, is competition. Competition is what forces companies and exchanges to be competitive. Particularly in digital assets, that’s important because of the risk involved. Exchanges and others operating in the space are prime targets for hackers and other bad actors. It is incumbent upon exchanges and other companies to ensure that they dedicate the resources necessary to stymie them. More competition is one way to encourage that,” offered Gardner.
Modulus is known throughout the financial technology segment as a leader in the development of ultra-high frequency trading systems and blockchain technologies. Modulus has provided its exchange solution to some of the industry’s most profitable digital asset exchanges, including a well-known multi-billion-dollar cryptocurrency exchange. Over the past twenty years, the company has built technology for the world’s most notable institutions, with a client list which includes NASA, NASDAQ, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Barclays, Siemens, Shell, Yahoo!, Microsoft, Cornell University, and the University of Chicago.
“The other area which requires competition is in digital asset custody. We need more players to get into the game. Many of the most notable firms in the space have security flaws which need to be dealt with. The best way to force them to implement better security practices: more competition,” responded Gardner.
