Coinbase, an ecosystem comprising an exchange, wallet, and Layer 2 blockchain, has partnered with Yellow Card, an Africa-focused crypto exchange, to expand Africans’ access to stablecoins. The move adds to Coinbase efforts to penetrate emerging economies, starting with the 20 African countries in which Yellow Card claims to operate.

Scheduled for a February launch, the partnership will provide Yellow Card’s customers with access to USDC purchases on the Coinbase Wallet. It will also let app users send the stablecoin without fees via email and popular messaging apps, such as WhatsApp, iMessage and Telegram—or “anywhere a link can be sent,” says Coinbase.

Additionally, Yellow Card users can leverage Coinbase-incubated Ethereum layer 2, Base, for purchasing USDC with reduced transaction costs. Coinbase, emphasizing its "Go Broad, Go Deep" strategy, sees this partnership as a pivotal step in ensuring compliant international expansion. Coinbase has separately intensified efforts to attract a wider African audience to its L2 chain, including investing in crypto-powered fintech Onboard.

Chris Maurice, CEO of Yellow Card, expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration, stating, "We are thrilled to partner with Coinbase to bring the transformative power of Stablecoins to more people across Africa. Together, by combining Yellow Card’s regional expertise with Coinbase’s global brand and infrastructure, we will empower the next one billion people across Africa to participate in the future of finance."

This move aligns with Coinbase's recent endeavours, including plans to acquire a MiFID-licensed entity for expanded derivatives offerings in the European Union and the introduction of spot trading for non-U.S. institutions in December 2022.

Yellow Card, one of Coinbase’s portfolio companies, has deepened its African roots over the past half-decade. Between 2020 and 2022, the crypto exchange raised over $56.5 million across three rounds to scale its pan-African expansion.