One of the crypto industry's biggest players is teaming up with African educators to commemorate a landmark event showcasing Bitcoin's humble beginnings and soaring growth over the past decade.

Tether, the issuer of the largest stablecoin, is collaborating with Nigeria's Crypto Bootcamp Community (CBC) to host "Bitcoin Pizza Day Hangouts" educating over 5,000 people across more than 10 African cities on May 22.

The annual event celebrates the first documented commercial Bitcoin transaction in 2010, when a Florida programmer paid 10,000 BTC (worth just $41) for two pizzas from Papa John's. BTC trades nearly $70,000, making those pizzas worth nearly $700 million at current prices.

While seemingly lighthearted, Bitcoin Pizza Day symbolizes the cryptocurrency's journey from an esoteric software project to a multi-trillion dollar asset class disrupting finance worldwide.

"Bitcoin's launch revolutionized the finance sector, giving access to the unbanked and facilitating cheaper cross-border transactions," said CBC founder Obinna Iwuno, who also serves as President of the Stakeholders in Blockchain Association of Nigeria (SiBAN). "Its emergence unlocked limitless innovation possibilities beyond cryptocurrency."

Founded in 2019, the nonprofit CBC is a leading vehicle for grassroots crypto education. Its Pizza Day Hangouts feature seminars from industry experts, panel discussions, workshops, and of course, free pizza.

After reaching 3,000 people in 2022 and 4,000 last year, adding Tether as a sponsor will help expand the initiative's reach and impact in 2024.

For the $80 billion stablecoin leader, the sponsorship aligns with Tether's mission to drive crypto adoption and financial inclusion in underserved markets like Africa, where remittances and mobile money have fueled soaring demand.

Crypto in Africa

A host of crypto startups the FTX-backed Chipper Cash have continued to draw global attention to Africa's bourgeoning blockchain scene. Tether has also looked to expand its own utility in Africa, striking deals with upstarts like IvoryPay for USDT remittance corridors.

However, the accelerating crypto drive coincides with an intensifying crackdown from African regulators concerned about disruption to monetary systems and illicit finance enabled by digital assets.

Nigeria ranks as one of the world's biggest adopters of crypto by users seeking inflation hedges and channels for remittances. But the central bank has waged an escalating campaign against platforms like Binance, culminating in the prolonged detainment of executives.

South Africa is pursuing a contrasting approach by licensing domestic crypto exchanges and firms to create oversight while nurturing the industry. The country's regulatory stance could serve as a model for balancing innovation and risk across the continent.

Against this backdrop, proponents argue grassroots education can boost transparency around crypto assets while allowing the technology's benefits like financial inclusion and faster payments to flourish.

"Education is key to dispelling misconceptions and empowering people to leverage crypto's upsides responsibly," said Iwuno. "Bitcoin Pizza Day reminds us of crypto's transformative journey from skepticism to mainstream phenomenon."

While the $41 in Bitcoin transaction may have once seemed frivolous, it heralded Bitcoin's evolution into a versatile financial rail for the internet era. Now, the race is on to replicate the success of crypto and Bitcoin in Africa’s young and digitally savvy population.