Zend
Making crypto easy for Africa—send and receive with just an email or basename.
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About
Why are you participating for Based Africa? As Nigerian developers, we see the massive potential crypto has to empower people across Africa. Unfortunately, many in our community are left behind due to the steep learning curve and complex processes of crypto. By participating in the Based Africa Buildathon, we aim to create a solution that breaks down these barriers, offering a seamless experience to onboard more Africans into the decentralized space. Zend is our attempt to bridge that gap, allowing users to send and receive crypto payments without needing deep crypto knowledge.
How it's made
What challenges are you focusing on? In Africa, particularly Nigeria, there is a large population that remains unbanked or underbanked, yet they are skilled and can work remotely. However, they often struggle to get paid due to the complexities of understanding crypto wallets, cryptographic addresses, and other technical details. There is also a need for easier ways to send crypto without memorizing wallet addresses or worrying about user errors. How does your submission address this challenge? Zend simplifies crypto transactions by enabling users to send and receive Base USDC through email links and Basenames, making it accessible even to those unfamiliar with how blockchain technology works. For recipients, it eliminates the need for complicated wallet setups. Instead, they can receive a link in their email, which holds the crypto until they are ready to cash out. This greatly lowers the entry barrier for freelancers, small business owners, and individuals in Nigeria and other parts of Africa to receive crypto payments. Additionally, Zend integrates an onRamp feature, allowing users to buy Base USDC directly with Naira. While there are some challenges with Coinbase verification in regions like Nigeria, the platform is set up to use this technology to the fullest potential. Challenges we ran into - **Coinbase Onramp Limitations:** While we implemented an onRamp feature for buying Base USDC using fiat like Naira, one challenge is that not all users in Nigeria are able to access it due to verification issues with Coinbase. As Nigerians, we personally faced this hurdle, and it's something that we hope Coinbase can address to ensure that this amazing technology can be used to its full potential across all regions. - **Setting Up Peanut SDK to Create the Links for Storing Crypto:** We had a little bit of trouble understanding how to integrate Peanut SDK into our application but we were able to schedule a call with one of the founders (Kkonrad) who promptly set up a telegram group chat to facilitate smooth conversations between us. We also had Hugo who helped us set up an API key for Zend and walk us through the proper configuration to avoid delay errors that would cost users their money.