The African crypto sector has offered possibilities to many young Africans previously excluded from genuine income-generating opportunities on the internet. Although some argue that in a legislative quagmire of worry and uncertainty, many Africans still lack the technical know-how to store and use cryptocurrencies properly.  Most of the young people joining the trend are doing so after crypto education. Furthermore, last week, Paxful CEO, Ray Youssef emphasized that there is a need for more efforts in crypto education since there has been an increase in crypto fraud, especially in Africa.

In an effort to implement a deliberate move on disseminating cryptographic knowledge to ensure that the crypto, blockchain, Web3 culture, and economy take root in Uganda, Binance recently hosted community meetups in three major cities to bridge this gap. 

The Binance program which was launched in Jinja, Hoima, and Kampala, started in October and aimed at providing crypto education ranging from trading to career opportunities in blockchain. It was led by Binance community angels who are crypto experts trained under Binance.

According to the crypto exchange’s site, the community meetups hosted over 300 crypto enthusiasts and experts. The Binance community meetup program covered different topics including; the fundamentals of blockchain and cryptocurrency, the concept of peer-to-peer (P2P) trading, the evolution of NFTs in the global market, how to send money and pay for goods using Binance Pay, how to meet their favorite creators in the metaverse and most importantly, career opportunities in crypto.

Commenting on this approach, crypto expert and Skill Haven CEO, Brindon Bamwiine stated that the Binance crypto educating approach works flawlessly because it is beyond customer acquisition, and is long-term.

“Binance goes for the hard work and invests in educating beyond one-time events. Their consistency in the Ugandan audiences with a number of community meetups is more likely to foster more crypto adoption than a one-time big event for a larger number of people,” he said.

He further stated, “I actually commend them for emphasizing peer-to-peer (P2P) trading which is less risky, especially for beginners. I also hope that they also ensure people develop a culture of self custody too to prevent losses through scams and any other risks.”

The issue of education is a significant consideration when it comes to the proliferation of cryptocurrency trading in Africa and luckily, Binance has set the pace in Uganda. However, mistrust and misconception around cryptocurrencies and their perceived use as a means to facilitate illicit activities, still prevail. 

While crypto adoption and use in Uganda and Africa, in general, have grown over time and many of us are interested in cryptocurrencies because we believe that they are more promising than conventional currencies, there is still more need for crypto education.