Bonjour,
Victoria from Techpoint here,
Here’s what I’ve got for you today:
- Yellow Card exits retail to go all in on B2B
- Two Nigerians want to fix blockchain’s biggest problem
- Lagos goes fully digital for Telecom infrastructure permits
Yellow Card exits retail to go all in on B2B
Yellow Card, a Nigerian-born stablecoin startup, is shutting down its retail services to focus fully on business clients. The company called it a “strategic refocus,” saying it’s responding to growing demand from enterprises that use its infrastructure for cross-border payments and treasury management. Retail users have until December 31 to withdraw their funds before accounts are closed.
For anyone who misses that deadline, Yellow Card says unclaimed funds will be locked but can later be retrieved with proof of ownership. From January 1, 2026, the company will go all in on its B2B stablecoin infrastructure suite, powering payments, fiat settlements, custody, and local stablecoin issuance for businesses.
Speaking to TechCabal, Yellow Card’s Chief Marketing Officer, John Colson, said the move isn’t a pivot away from its mission but “a doubling down.” He explained that enterprise clients are now driving most of the company’s growth, while retail activity has slowed amid tighter crypto regulation and market volatility.
Launched in 2019, Yellow Card, which now operates in 34 countries, has raised $88 million and processed over $3 billion in stablecoin transactions in 2024 alone. Its growing partnerships, including one with Visa earlier this year, have helped it expand beyond Africa into Latin America and Asia, serving more than 30,000 businesses globally.
Yellow Card joins other African crypto startups like Quidax and Busha in turning to B2B models for stability and scalability. As Colson puts it, “We’re evolving to focus on where the biggest opportunities lie, helping businesses move money seamlessly across borders.”
Two Nigerians want to fix blockchain’s biggest problem
Seun Lanlege and David Salaami didn’t just raise $5.8 million; they went viral for it. A video of them flaunting two new cars and a $50,000 monthly marketing budget had the Internet talking. Many assumed they were just another pair of flashy startup bros spending investor money. But behind the hype is a seriously technical project that could change how blockchain works across the world.
Their startup, Hyperbridge, isn’t another “buy and sell crypto” platform. It’s a global infrastructure play. One that took two years of deep research and solving maths problems that would make The Big Bang Theory’s Sheldon proud. What they’re building solves one of blockchain’s oldest headaches: interoperability — the ability for different blockchains to talk to each other.
Think of blockchains like separate railway tracks. You can send your crypto across the same track, no problem. But moving from one track to another — say from Ethereum to Solana — is like trying to switch trains without a bridge. That bridge is what Hyperbridge is building. Without it, the crypto world remains a collection of silos that can’t easily transact across systems.
Lanlege says that as new blockchains emerge, the problem only gets worse. “We’re scaling, but if people on Polygon can’t do business with those on Tron, we’ve recreated the same problem we were trying to fix,” he told Techpoint Africa at Polytope Labs, where Hyperbridge was born.
Want to find out why Hyperbridge might be the blockchain bridge the industry has been waiting for and how it compares to others? Read Bolu’s full story here.
Lagos goes fully digital for Telecom infrastructure permits
Lagos State is taking a big digital leap. Come February 2026, the government will launch a new platform, the Telecommunication Infrastructure Regulatory System (TIRS), to automate the approval process for telecom infrastructure across the state. In simple terms, telecom operators won’t have to queue or shuffle papers anymore to get permits for masts, towers, or fibre cables.
Announcing the move, the General Manager of the Lagos State Infrastructure Maintenance Regulatory Agency (LASIMRA), Prince Oyekanmi Elegushi, said the system will bring transparency, speed, and accountability to the entire process. He added that TIRS will cut down human interference by 99%, meaning approvals will now be handled online, not across office desks.
In practice, companies will apply for infrastructure permits directly on the platform, streamlining what used to be a bureaucratic headache. “The implementation of TIRS is expected to significantly enhance transparency and accountability,” Elegushi noted, adding that it’s part of Lagos’s wider drive toward digital governance.
Ahead of the rollout, LASIMRA says it has completed comprehensive training for all departments to ensure a smooth transition once the system goes live. The training covered both theory and hands-on sessions to get staff up to speed with the system’s functions and goals.
This isn’t LASIMRA’s first move to tighten telecom regulation. In recent years, the agency decommissioned over 95 illegal or unsafe masts across Lagos, even linking some rooftop structures to building collapses. It also partnered with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and telecom operators earlier this year on a state-wide enumeration project to map every tower and mast in the city.
With TIRS, Lagos hopes to set a new standard for how telecom infrastructure is managed, one that’s digital, transparent, and safer for everyone. It’s part of the state’s bigger mission to show that governance can be smart, efficient, and investor-friendly all at once.
In case you missed it
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What I’m watching
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Have a lovely Tuesday!
Victoria Fakiya for Techpoint Africa
