CRYPTO EXCHANGE | Binance Sends Top Financial Crime Experts to Conduct Inaugural...

Btrust Builders, the African Bitcoin education program that recently re-branded from Qala, has announced the winners of its recent hackathon targeting African-made solutions around Bitcoin.

Congratulations to the #BuildForAfrica Hackathon Winners!

After an intense competition with 38 submissions and narrowing down to 8 finalists, the innovation showcased was truly remarkable!

Here's the prize breakdown for the four winners:
1st Place: $5,000
2nd Place:… pic.twitter.com/IFFAnkRgFc

— Btrust Builders (@btrust_builders) December 3, 2023

The four participants were selected from 8 finalists who had been voted in by the Btrust Builders community.

1.) BitPension

First place went to BitPension, which is developing a multi-signature bitcoin pension platform. The solution offers a secure and flexible solution to address retirement savings challenges.

Leveraging Bitcoin’s decentralized nature and multi-signature technology, BitPension aims to empower individuals to save for their retirement while maintaining control over their funds. The goal is to provide a trustworthy and innovative financial security solution.

2.) Splice Africa

According to Btrust, Splice Africa is addressing the friction in cross-border settlements and payments within Africa like cumbersome KYC processes, high fees, and multiple intermediaries.

Splice’s solution involves connecting African nations through Bitcoin’s globally accessible liquidity network. It employs automated foreign exchange swaps with Taproot Assets on the Lightning Network, eliminating costly overseas intermediaries and reducing transaction friction.

The system operates as a peer-to-peer non-KYC setup for cross-border payments, utilizing mobile money agents/merchants.

“Transactions are conducted through Lightning using Taproot Assets, with fiat coins shielding agents/merchants from Bitcoin’s volatility. This approach aims to enhance efficiency and accessibility in cross-border financial transactions across the continent.”

3.) Stealth Money

Stealth Money addresses the challenge of depreciating fiat currencies in Africa and the reluctance to self-custody Bitcoin due to a knowledge deficit. The solution involves promoting Bitcoin as a savings technology and emphasizing the importance of ‘Not Your Keys, Not Your Coins.’

The platform automates the process of saving in Bitcoin, allowing users to sign up, complete registration, add their hardware wallet, and deposit local currency.

Through one-time purchases or recurring plans, the deposited funds are converted into BTC and sent to users’ self-custodial wallets. This encourages a culture of saving and accumulating bitcoin, providing a secure alternative to traditional fiat savings susceptible to devaluation.

4.) SATS to GO!

SATS to GO! goes beyond a mere incentive; it serves as a catalyst for change, aiming to inspire transition from mere compliance to genuine commitment. This initiative is designed to spark a positive shift in mindset and engagement, fostering more dedicated and motivated individuals.

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Binance, the leading global crypto exchange, has sent its leading cryptocurrency crime experts to assist law enforcement authorities across Africa in dealing with cyber crimes related to cryptocurrencies and blockchain.

Nils Andersen Röed and Jarek Jakubcek, who formerly worked as investigators at Europol, were recently in South Africa and Nigeria to train local regulators and authorities on the ever-evolving tricks of crypto criminals.

In Nigeria, the experts conducted a seminar attended by:

• Law enforcement officers
• Financial analysts
• Financial crimes experts

The seminar focused on:

• Digital asset trends
• Investigative techniques, and
• Preventive measures against crypto-related crimes

According to the experts, Binance is helping local officers with the skills and know-how for investigating cryptocurrency-related crimes while also educating the general public that is trading crypto to not fall victim to crimes.

Nils Andersen Röed, Head of Law Enforcement Training, Binance, highlighted:

“For several years, Binance has significantly aided users affected by theft, scams, or hacks in the crypto industry. Now, with an e-crime training program, our ambitions are even higher.”

As reported by BitKE, since 2022, Binance has been conducting training workshops on how to deal with crypto crimes such as money laundering, ransomware, and attacks by nation-states across the world with the exception of Africa.

“Engaging with prosecutors across Africa, supported by law enforcement agencies, Binance is dedicated to safeguarding user assets and contributing to a safer virtual asset ecosystem across the continent,” emphasized Jarek Jakubcek, Head of Law Enforcement Training at Binance.

According to Binance, the ability of the blockchain to track the flow of funds is instrumental to law enforcement.

Binance, which recently admitted to being a conduit for money laundering, unlicensed money transmitting, and sanctions violations, has assisted law enforcement officials from the U.S, and other countries to solve crimes committed by Lazarus, a North Korean hacker team, and other crimes occurring on Hydra, an illegal internet marketplace that was shut down in April 2022.

According to the officials, however, the increasing adoption of cryptocurrencies has seen such sophisticated crimes become less common in their work. Instead, they are often dealing with investment-related crimes.

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