Binance Signs Up 40,000 Crypto Traders in Its First Week in Uganda

Revealed exclusively to CoinDesk, Binance Uganda signed up 40,000 users in the first week since the world's largest crypto exchange launched its local subsidiary in October.

The early results suggest a strong appetite among unbanked Ugandans for purchasing bitcoin or ether, the two coins the new Binance unit currently lists.

While Binance only offers trading of cryptos for other cryptos, its new unit in Uganda is partnering with a local mobile payments provider that will convert fiat to crypto or vice versa.

Like its Malta-based parent, Binance Uganda has no bank account.

Kwame Rugunda, chairman of the Uganda Blockchain Association and co-founder of the Ugandan blockchain startup CryptoSavannah, told CoinDesk such platforms hardly represent a "Large population in the country that are unbanked" and "Hungry" for access to cryptocurrency.

Since Binance Uganda opened, Rugunda said, several other global exchanges have started contacting local regulators.

Zhou told CoinDesk that Binance Uganda is looking to hire local operational staff for both local support and expansion of similar subsidiaries in 2019 to either Kenya, Nigeria, or South Africa.

On the other hand, there's still a long way to go until those 40,000 Binance Uganda users start to rely on bitcoin for daily remittances.

Ugandan royal Prince Kudra Kalema is currently spearheading an energy project with the crypto startup Wala, which already has thousands of Ugandan mobile app users.

Zhou agreed Uganda is "An up-and-coming African country" with a relatively crypto-friendly and stable political system.