Zimbabwe cryptocurrency exchange platform, Golix , is now proceeding ahead with its planned token sale to raise $32 million and has expanded to Kenya and Uganda with effect from the beginning of this month.
Golix’s Initial Coin Offering had been disrupted after the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe banned banks from processing cryptocurrency transactions in the country. The apex bank also subsequently ordered Golix to cease crypto operations but the exchange successfully obtained a court ruling overturning this move.
Despite the court ruling restoring Golix operations, the regulatory issues in Zimbabwe had caused much uncertainty and disruption to trade and investment in virtual currencies in the country as Golix scrambled for a way out.
It has now appeared that the company has set its sights on the broader African market and will also be proceeding with the token sale.
“Zimbabwe’s digital currencies pioneer, Golix is raising $32 million through a token sale in, a bid to finance cryptocurrencies infrastructure across the entire African continent,” Nhlalwenhle Ngwenya, spokesperson for Golix said on Friday night.
The token sale, according to William Chui, who is the head of special projects at the Zimbabwean digital currency exchange, is also aimed to anchor initiatives that will enable instant remittances and international payments through cryptocurrencies.
The company has explained that the GLX token, which is an Ethereum ERC20 token, is already available for purchase from June 1 2018 on the Golix token sale website.
Potential buyers can “use their bitcoin (BTC) and/or ethereum (ETH) to buy the GLX token” which is being sold at a price of $0.05612. About 1,2 billion tokens will be availed but only 637,120,049 have been availed for sale during the current and initial token sale.
“People from respective different countries will be able to buy the GLX token from the exchange using their fiat currencies. The GLX token will be used to buy other Altcoins in the exchange, all this will be done at zero transactions fee,” said Chui.
As it battles regulatory issues in Zimbabwe, Golix has also announced further expansion into Africa. This is in addition to its earlier agreements to launch operations and partnerships in South Africa, which is already taxing bitcoin and other cryptocurrency investments.
“As part of our strategy starting from Friday 1 June, people in Kenya, South Africa and
Uganda will be able to start trading from Golix. This is one of our plans to be the leading exchange in Africa, which inspired by the vision to provide financial autonomy in the continent,” explained Panashe Tapera, the head of growth at the exchange platform.
Africa is moving up to embrace virtual currencies although only a few markets on the continent have operational cryptocurrency exchange platforms.