Week in Crypto: Top African Blockchain News (Feb 24 – March 2, 2025)

South African Regulator, FSCA, to Consider Adding ‘Certain DeFi Use Cases’ onto the IFWG Sandbox, Says DeFi Users to Reach ~400,000 in 2025
A survey by South Africa’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) projects the country’s DeFi user base to reach 378,000 by 2025, with user penetration holding steady at 0.62%. Key use cases driving adoption include payments (52%), lending and borrowing (48%), and decentralized exchanges (33%), though challenges like regulatory uncertainty, digital illiteracy, and cybercrime may hinder growth. To address risks such as coding vulnerabilities in smart contracts and systemic dependencies, the FSCA plans to integrate select DeFi applications into the Intergovernmental Fintech Working Group (IFWG) regulatory sandbox for further evaluation.

Ethiopian RWA Blockchain Startup, WAGA, Revolutionizes the Coffee Supply Chain with Tokenization
WAGA, an Ethiopian blockchain startup, is revolutionizing the country’s coffee supply chain by using tokenization to enhance transparency, streamline payments, and empower smallholder farmers. By assigning unique blockchain-based tokens to coffee batches and automating transactions through smart contracts, WAGA reduces costs, ensures real-time verification, and provides farmers with access to decentralized finance (DeFi). With a pilot launch set for mid-2025, the startup aims to demonstrate how blockchain can modernize Ethiopia’s coffee industry while creating a model for other agricultural sectors across Africa.