After a registration process lasting some four months, Binance will finally offer fiat-to-cryptocurrency trading pairs through its new Uganda exchange, with deposits opening on Wednesday.

Announced via press release, Ugandans are now able to fully submit identity documents and begin depositing fiat ahead of live trade, something expected to start in two weeks.

Binance Uganda will initially allow verified users to trade Ugandan Shillings for Bitcoin and Ethereum, but it promises to add more cryptocurrency pairs in the future.

Wei Zhou, Binance’s chief finance officer, called the trading pairs an “innovation,” and commented they are the “first step” of its efforts to use blockchain tech to “support sustainable economic development in Africa.”

Binance looks to support Ugandan innovation

Binance is the most popular online cryptocurrency exchange, and has been using its influence to spur economic development in Uganda.

In particular, it has partnered with local non-profits Made in Africa and Msingi in a bid to create opportunities for local entrepreneurs.

The initiative aims to use blockchain as a bedrock for potential startups whose goal is to improve the lives of regular Ugandans.

It has certainly been a long wait for Binance to support fiat trading pairs. In the absence of legitimate banking partners, the exchange has long relied on controversial “stablecoins” as a replacement.

The patience of cryptocurrency traders has been wearing thin of late though, with fears circulating a heavy reliance on unregulated stablecoins could be be damaging to the wider digital asset market.

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