The Africa Bitcoin Institute Champions African Leadership in Cryptocurrency Policy

How one new initiative is documenting real-world Bitcoin use to influence policy and empower communities

By George Kamau August 21, 2025

0 1 minute read

Anaïse Kanimba grew up in the shadow of global attention. Her father, Paul Rusesabagina, became an international symbol of courage after the events portrayed in Hotel Rwanda. Now, Kanimba is carving her own path—one that blends technology, finance, and human rights.

She leads the Africa Bitcoin Institute, a new initiative backed by the Human Rights Foundation and MIT. But this isn’t just another think tank. Kanimba’s goal is to place African experiences at the heart of cryptocurrency research, challenging policies often shaped by distant perspectives. “African policymakers rely on global precedents rather than African realities,” she says. “We want to change that.”

Across the continent, Bitcoin is quietly becoming part of daily life. In Nairobi’s markets, Lagos’ bustling fintech scene, and Johannesburg’s small-business corridors, people are using it to safeguard savings, move money cheaply across borders, and protect themselves from local currency instability. Startups are building apps to simplify transactions, and informal traders often turn to cryptocurrency when traditional banks fail to meet their needs. Yet most research on digital currency comes from outside Africa, leaving a gap in understanding how it truly functions here.

The Africa Bitcoin Institute aims to fill that gap. Its team is documenting real-world usage, collecting data from communities, and producing insights that could influence how governments approach cryptocurrency regulation. In countries where digital restrictions can be wielded as a tool of control, Bitcoin becomes not just a financial instrument, but a form of resilience.

For Kanimba, the mission is clear: Africa should tell its own story in cryptocurrency. By bringing local voices, data, and leadership to the forefront, the institute seeks to ensure that the policies shaping digital finance reflect the continent’s realities—not outside assumptions.