Cryptocurrencies are empowering a generation. This is what Richard Ells, the CEO and founder of Electroneum and AnyTask.com, said to thousands of attendees at Blockchain Africa Conference 2021 this March.

According to him, Electroneum and AnyTask.com, enabled thousands of online freelancers worldwide to earn cryptocurrency within the past years.

A British entrepreneur launched Electroneum and ETN-powered freelance marketplace AnyTask.com in 2017 and 2019 respectively. The platform allows access to the global digital economy to anyone with a smartphone and without even having a bank account.

According to Richar Ells, the number of people without access to banking services was at 1.7 billion in 2018. But a very small number of blockchain startups have unlocked the global digital economy for the world’s unbanked since.

Mr. Ell referred to the electronic bank transfers, which can take a vast amount of time and can be impractical for smaller amounts:

It simply would not make sense to send $5, for example, from the UK to Nigeria or from New York to Senegal without the cost of that transfer being significantly higher than the amount sent.

Meanwhile, cryptocurrencies like Electroneum have empowered thousands of people with sending the smallest amounts in ETN tokens cheaper and faster.

Mr. Ells recalled that for the first 30 months after its launch in 2017, Electroneum managed to bring in millions of users to the world of crypto who may have not gotten involved otherwise.

According to him, they got into cryptocurrency because of the simple process, allowing them to earn virtual currencies by mobile phone simulated mining.

Electroneum in Africa

5% of Electroneum’s global user base resides in Africa.  Richard Ells pointed out that Africa has the youngest population in the world and is “a hugely important place in terms of cryptocurrency.”

As states the World Bank’s and United Nations’ report, the young population means a larger upcoming workforce and more opportunities for  innovation and economic growth.

Mr. Ells noted that Africans are highly entrepreneurial and active on the AnyTask.com platform. There are over 57,000 AnyTask users across 54 African countries, representing 8.5% of the total user base that totals nearly 671,000, reports Electroneum.

On the Flipside

• The development of Electroneum has been relatively slow and did not have clear direction until recently. 
• The competition is growing around Electroneum as projects like Cardano (ADA) shifting their interest towards the unbanked African market. 
• The price of ETN has rallied since February, but it still is almost 90% lower than its previous ATH in 2018.

Electroneum is a mobile phone-focused crypto platform that offers a revolutionary instant payment system. The focus of Electroneum is to provide the quickest and safest crypto transaction with minimal fees for the world’s unbanked population.