Binance Leverages Mobile Money to Democratize Crypto Access Across Africa

Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, has expanded its services to over 30 African countries, enabling users to purchase digital assets via local fiat currencies and peer-to-peer trading. The move, announced on October 28, 2025, marks a strategic push to deepen the exchange's presence in the continent's rapidly growing crypto market, according to Yahoo Finance.

The expansion supports multiple payment methods, including Mobile Money, bank transfers, and card payments, allowing users to transact in local currencies such as Kenyan shillings (KES), West African CFA francs (XOF), and South African rand (ZAR). In Kenya and Ivory Coast, Binance introduced its "One Click Buy & Sell" feature, enabling instant crypto purchases and sales via Mobile Money PINs, while Ghana and South Africa added card payment options and enhanced USD deposit capabilities, the Yahoo Finance report said. The exchange emphasized zero transaction fees for certain assets when using local currencies, aiming to reduce barriers to entry for unbanked populations.

Binance's Africa expansion aligns with broader efforts to facilitate financial inclusion and entrepreneurship. The company highlighted its role in enabling remittances, hedging against inflation, and diversifying investment portfolios through digital assets, the Yahoo Finance report added. This initiative follows a regulatory shift in the U.S., where President Donald Trump pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao on October 23, 2025, reigniting interest in the exchange's ecosystem, according to Morningstar.

The expansion also comes amid heightened competition in Africa's crypto landscape. OKX, another major exchange, recently accused a rival—widely interpreted as Binance—of "predatory poaching" after firing a spokesperson for alleged conflicts of interest. OKX's president claimed the rival uses a "use-and-discard" hiring strategy, with nearly 100 senior and mid-level managers from the competitor joining OKX since 2023, according to Yahoo Finance. Despite these tensions, Binance maintains a dominant market position, holding 39.71% of the $1.6 trillion crypto trading volume in September 2025, according to CoinGecko.

Binance's Africa strategy includes partnerships with local financial infrastructure providers. For example, the exchange integrated Wave for XOF transactions and expanded its institutional footprint in Europe through regulated collaborations, the Yahoo Finance report said. The move follows similar efforts by competitors like Ripple, which partnered with Absa Bank in October to offer digital asset custody services.

The expansion underscores Binance's focus on emerging markets, where crypto adoption is driven by mobile money systems and limited access to traditional banking. By supporting local currencies and leveraging mobile networks, the exchange aims to capture a significant share of Africa's $19.4 billion stablecoin payment market, a sector targeted by infrastructure projects like OwlTing's second-generation stablecoin platform, the Yahoo Finance article noted.