“With the right resources, this region has potential for mass adoption of cryptocurrency. To that end, the local knowledge and specialized skills of the MARA team is quite promising.”

The company is targeting an initial launch in July this year in Kenya and Nigeria, the two countries in which it is headquartered.

In Q4 this year, it will launch the MARA Chain, a layer-1 blockchain and Alchemy-esque platform powered by the native MARA token for developers to build decentralized applications — also known as dApps — in Africa. Then sometime in Q1 2023, MARA intends to launch a pro-exchange for sophisticated traders that utilize technical analysis and prefer a full set of trading options to the traditional exchange options on MARA’s retail app.

As a “legalized exchange,” MARA plans to teach governments and provide support on KYC and AML best practices.

Nnadi says his company will engage more African governments — including those that have an anti-crypto stance like Nigeria and Kenya — to see the benefits of blockchain and assist in drafting licensing regimes for crypto companies to operate in their countries.

It’s unclear how MARA intends to bring these governments, whose reputation of being strong-headed precedes them, to reason;