Stablecoin company Tether has partnered with the United Nations to combat crime in Africa, specifically crime relating to digital assets, as per an official press release.
The joint initiative is secured with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
The two parties will be targeting three initiatives in their collaboration: a Senegal project, an Africa project, and a project in Papua & New Guinea.
“Supporting victims of human trafficking and helping prevent exploitation requires coordinated action across sectors,” said Tether’s CEO Paolo Ardoino.
“I am excited by the prospect of a tripartite partnership, bringing together the United Nations, the private sector, and Senegalese authorities, to support the vision behind Senegal’s Digital New Deal,” said UNODC representative Sylvie Bertrand.
While Africa has been identified as a region open to financial innovation and digital assets, it is also prone to various forms of cryptocurrency fraud due to the high prevalence of scams.
The continent is also considered severely underbanked, with roughly half of the population lacking access to a traditional bank account, making access to cryptocurrency an indispensable piece of infrastructure, but with proper protections for consumers.