Crypto-based payment app Bundle Africa has entered Africa's competitive cryptocurrency market.

Crypto-based payment app Bundle Africa, backed by global cryptocurrency exchange Binance’s pre-seed US$450,000 funding, has joined the race to compete for-and capture a share of the African market, despite uncertainty over regulatory issues.

Bundle Africa, founded by former director at Binance Lab Yele Bademosi, introduced as a social payments app for cash and cryptocurrencies. It launched its minimum viable product into the market last week, focused initially on Nigeria amid the continued impact of COVID-19 on the financial sector.

The app will compete with existing crypto platforms like Luno, Remitano and the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume, Binance, all of which continue to focus on Nigeria’s digital finance market with scaling efforts.

Binance recently added support for naira exchange on its platform, while Remitano this month added five more altcoins to its array of digital assets that users can invest in.

Luno recently announced it is adding Litecoin to its trading platform, starting 11 May even as its CEO, Marcus Swanepoel, sees the COVID-19 outbreak - regardless of its challenges - as “also changing the way people perceive cryptocurrencies” in a world that is now more technologically connected than ever.

Laura Ofulue, an Executive Associate at Bundle Africa said: “We don't think about competition. So many don't know about crypto or how to use it. We are focused on making it easy, useful and inclusive so our focus is essentially on our current and potential customers. We make using crypto feel like any other digital financial transaction that you are already used to.”

With crypto-related regulations still uncertain in parts of Africa, Ofulue believes the situation is not unique to the continent.

The app conducts appropriate KYC/AML to prevent bad actors from accessing their platform.

Crypto regulation remains a hot topic in Africa as discussion intensifies around frameworks to regulate crypto assets.

South African financial sector regulators group, the Intergovernmental Fintech Working Group, recently drafted and released a policy position paper on crypto assets for public comment by 15 May 2020.

Bundle Africa intends to expand its offering into Africa by the end of 2020 and establish itself as a simplified fiat on/off ramp for crypto on the continent.