This month, Coinbase announced that the company would be enabling users in select countries to purchase cryptocurrencies utilizing their debit or credit card. This comes on the heels of a spate of announcements from Ghana, detailing its position on CBDCs.
The country’s central bank is a regional leader in the quest to develop and beta test a digital currency of its own.
“If you’ve been paying attention to what’s been coming out of Ghana lately, there’s a pattern. The country has been quietly branding itself as a leader in the CBDC movement, and we know there’s already strong interest in digital assets within its borders.
Coinbase’s new move to allow purchases using debit and credit cards simply increases access to the industry. It lowers the barriers to entry. It lessens the technological expertise needed to invest. The more that barriers to entry are lowered, the more mainstream digital assets will become,” predicted Richard Gardner, CEO of Modulus, a US-based developer of ultra-high-performance trading and surveillance technology that powers global equities, derivatives, and digital asset exchanges.
“As you lower barriers to entry, you should see increased activity in the country. Not just Ghana, but across all twenty-plus countries in which Coinbase has made this new service available. Ghana is unique because it will allow additional access to a country that seems to have decided that fintech is the next frontier. This is an area where Ghana, both in its public and private sector, can build a culture that supports and boosts its reputation in a way that will garner international intrigue, particularly among MNCs who have interest in an Africa expansion,” noted Gardner.
“As Ghana prepares to launch its own CBDC, beyond making sure that the technology is right, one of the most important things critical to success is ensuring that the populace is on board and buys into the new technology. As Ghana looks to create that groundswell of support, this news from Coinbase couldn’t have come at a better time, as it will allow a greater percentage of the citizenry to access digital assets, a fine entrée into what’s coming from the central bank,” Gardner said.
Modulus is known throughout the financial technology segment as a leader in the development of ultra-high frequency trading systems and blockchain technologies. Over the past twenty years, the company has built technology for the world’s most notable exchanges, with a client list which includes NASA, NASDAQ, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Barclays, Siemens, Shell, Yahoo!, Microsoft, Cornell University, and the University of Chicago.
“In many ways, Ghana has more to gain than most other countries, as it relates to the successful launch of a CBDC. If Ghana can show the international community and industry leaders that they’re a real player in fintech, I think they’ll continue to see good publicity in terms of the country’s ability to offer innovators a burgeoning market which is complete with the infrastructure needed to compete at a high level. Ghana isn’t there yet. It is a transformative process which takes years or, even, decades. Just look at Estonia. But, putting in the hard work is worth it. A successful CBDC launch would go a long way towards reaffirming their commitment,” said Gardner.