(Bloomberg) -- Yellow Card Financial Inc., a pan-African cryptocurrency exchange, has secured a license for trading in Botswana, the first company on the continent to do so.

The Polychain-backed crypto exchange’s operating license may open up greater channels for expansion and access to payment partners, banking and clients across the continent, Chief Executive Officer and Founder Chris Maurice said in a statement. 

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More African nations are working to establish legislation to regulate the use of crytpocurrency and other digital assets in the financial markets. Neighboring South Africa introduced rules to tighten oversight of the industry and to protect customers.

Yellow Card will target the unbanked population in Botswana, the continent’s biggest diamond producer, where the majority of the population does not have payslips and therefore do not have bank accounts, it said.

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