Before co-founding Liquid, Justice helped build Paystack’s Virtual Terminal and was an early engineer at Lazerpay, where he shipped the minimum viable product (MVP) that went on to raise seed funding. He is now focused on reimagining user capital efficiency in decentralised finance (DeFi) by giving prediction-market participants the ability to place more conviction on their trades. Liquid, part of the YZi Labs cohort, reflects his belief in building B2C products that improve people’s financial lives and his conviction-driven decision-making, including recently turning down a high-paying engineering leadership role to go all-in on the product.

In today's edition: We’ve launched the Builders’ List! || Quick Fire 🔥 with Justice Eziefule || Who secured the bag? 💰

How much of the African tech story did you digest this year? Let’s find out.

The Bank of Japan’s Monetary Policy Meeting is ongoing, with the decision announcement scheduled for Friday, December 19. Economists and analysts overwhelmingly expect a 25 basis point rate hike, raising the policy rate from the current 0.5% to 0.75%. This would mark the highest level for Japan’s short-term policy rate in approximately 30 years since […] The post Bank of Japan’s Expected 25 Bps, Raising Rate to 0.75% from 0.5% appeared first on Tekedia.

The cryptocurrency market experienced a notable pullback, aligning with broader risk-off sentiment in equities, particularly in tech-heavy indices. Bitcoin (BTC) dipped below $86,000 at points during the session hitting weekly lows around $85,000–$86,000, before recovering slightly to trade in the $86,000–$88,000 range. It was down roughly 0.3%–1% on the day and about 8% for the […] The post Crypto Pulls Back as the Nasdaq Drops over 1.5% on the day appeared first on Tekedia.

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) announced a 25 basis point cut to the Bank Rate, lowering it from 4% to 3.75%. This was the fourth rate cut of 2025 and the sixth since mid-2024. Narrowly 5-4 in favor of the cut (four members preferred to hold at 4%). Governor Andrew Bailey — […] The post Impact of the Bank of England’s 0.25% Rate Cut to 3.75% on Mortgage Rates appeared first on Tekedia.

Coinbase announced a major product expansion during its “System Update” event, aiming to become an “everything exchange” by blending crypto with traditional finance. Coinbase is rolling out commission-free trading of traditional U.S. stocks and ETFs directly in its main app initially hundreds of top stocks by market cap and volume, expanding to thousands. This is […] The post Coinbase Announces Tokenized Equities, Prediction Markets, as JP Morgan Migrates its Tokenized Deposit Token to Base appeared first on Tekedia.

MoonPay, a leading crypto payments platform, announced that Caroline D. Pham, the Acting Chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), will join the company as Chief Legal Officer and Chief Administrative Officer. This move follows the expected Senate confirmation of her successor, Mike Selig, and marks another high-profile transition from government regulation to […] The post CFTC Acting Chair Caroline Pham Joins MoonPay As DTCC Partners with Canton Network appeared first on Tekedia.

Kraken-backed tokenized equities platform xStocks officially launched on the TON (The Open Network) blockchain, integrated directly into Telegram’s self-custodial TON Wallet. This allows millions of Telegram users to buy, hold, and transfer tokenized versions of U.S. stocks and ETFs, like Tesla – TSLAx, Nvidia – NVDAx, S&P 500 ETF on-chain, often as easily as sending […] The post xStocks Launches on TON Wallet As Samani Criticizes Ethereum appeared first on Tekedia.

Caroline Ellison, former CEO of Alameda Research and a key cooperating witness in the FTX fraud case, was transferred from federal prison to community confinement on October 16, 2025. This move occurred after she served approximately 11 months of her original two-year sentence at the low-security Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut. Community confinement typically […] The post FTX’s Caroline Ellison Moves to Community Confinement Amid HYPE Trading Below $25 appeared first on Tekedia.

Bitcoin mining and energy infrastructure company Hut 8 announced a major deal, involving a 15-year lease valued at approximately $7 billion with potential to reach $17.7 billion including renewal options for 245 MW of AI-optimized data center capacity at its River Bend campus in Louisiana. The lessee is Fluidstack, an AI infrastructure provider. Google via […] The post Hut 8 Partners with Google on Data Center Deal appeared first on Tekedia.

PayPal is signaling a major shift in its business model with plans to establish a bank. According to reports, the payments giant has applied for regulatory approval to create PayPal Bank, a move that would allow it to lend directly to small businesses in the United States. Explaining the rationale, PayPal CEO Alex Chriss noted […] The post The PayPal Bank and Vertical Fintechnolization appeared first on Tekedia.

Three respected data sources. Same year. Same ecosystem. Numbers that differ by almost 3X. Welcome to African startup data tracking, where everyone’s counting but nobody agrees on what they’re counting. If you’re a founder benchmarking your fundraising progress, a VC reporting to LPs, or a policy maker allocating resources, you’d assume the basic question “How […] The post Did African Startups Raise $1.1B, $2.2B, or $3.2B in 2024? Why Nobody Knows (And Why That’s a Problem) appeared first on Tech In Africa.

FIFA announced a new “Supporter Entry Tier” priced at a flat $60 for every match in the 2026 World Cup hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the United States, including the final. This came directly in response to widespread global backlash over high ticket prices, particularly for the allocation given to national federations for their most […] The post A Look at FIFA’s Supporter Entry Tier Ticket appeared first on Tekedia.

Gold is trading near its all-time high, hovering around $4,300–$4,305 per ounce. This puts it very close to its October 2025 peak of approximately $4,379–$4,381. Gold has delivered exceptional performance this year, up over 55–65% YTD, driven by central bank buying, geopolitical tensions, falling interest rates, and its role as a traditional safe-haven asset. Bitcoin, […] The post Gold Racing Back to ATH, As Patterns Suggest Rotation from other Assets appeared first on Tekedia.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) approved and released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) outlining a framework for how FDIC-supervised banks can apply to issue payment stablecoins through a subsidiary. This is the first major regulatory step implementing the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, signed into law in July […] The post U.S. FDIC Approves Framework on How Banks can Apply to Custody Stablecoins appeared first on Tekedia.

Lagos-backed ride-hailing platform LagRide has secured a USD 100 million (approximately EUR 95 million) credit facility from United Bank for Africa (UBA) to fund the acquisition of 3,500 vehicles and support a four-year plan to transition drivers from rental arrangements to vehicle ownership. Under the financing structure, drivers are able to avoid the high upfront […] The post Lagos-Backed LagRide Secures $100M UBA Credit Facility to Acquire 3,500 Vehicles appeared first on Tech In Africa.

Cassava Technologies, a global technology leader of African heritage, and Gebeya, a provider of an ecosystem for Africa’s service economy, have announced a strategic partnership that will lead to the launch of Gebeya Dala, a new suite of AI-powered tools aimed at enabling Africans with ideas to become digital creators. The initiative is powered by […] The post Cassava, Gebeya Partner on AI Tools Enabling Africans Without Coding Skills to Build Applications appeared first on Tech In Africa.

Xsolla, a global video game commerce company that supports developers in launching, growing, and monetising their games, has announced the expansion of MTN Mobile Money (MTN MoMo) within its payment solutions in Congo-Brazzaville and Zambia. The move extends Xsolla’s existing MTN Mobile Money coverage across Africa and reinforces the company’s focus on improving accessibility, security, […] The post Xsolla Expands MTN Mobile Money Support to Congo-Brazzaville and Zambia, Enhancing Access in Fast-Growing Markets appeared first on Tech In Africa.

The cryptocurrency ecosystem endured another difficult year in 2025, as the total value of stolen digital assets continued to rise. According to a Chainalysis report, more than $3.4 billion was stolen from January through early December 2025, with a single breach, the February compromise of Bybit accounting for $1.5 billion of that figure. The report […] The post $3.4bn Stolen in 2025 as High-Value Crypto Hacks Surge appeared first on Tekedia.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the primary U.S. crude oil benchmark, fell below $55 per barrel during trading, hitting an intraday low of $54.98 and closing around $55.27—marking the first time below $55 since February 2021 during the post-COVID recovery period. This drop reflects growing concerns over a global oil supply surplus, driven by increased production […] The post Economic Implications of WTI Oil Hitting Below $55 per Barrel appeared first on Tekedia.

U.S. Senators Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) introduced the bipartisan Strengthening Agency Frameworks for Enforcement of Cryptocurrency (SAFE Crypto) Act, often referred to as the SAFE Act. The bill aims to combat the sharp rise in cryptocurrency-related fraud—Americans lost over $9.3 billion to such scams in 2024 alone, a 66% increase from the […] The post A Look At the Proposed SAFE Crypto Act appeared first on Tekedia.

During trading earlier this week, Tesla’s shares hit approximately $490, with reports of intraday peaks around $490–$491, and closed near $489–$490. This surpasses the previous all-time closing high of $479.86, and the prior intraday high around $488.54. The surge is largely driven by excitement over Tesla’s advancements in autonomous driving technology. Elon Musk announced over […] The post Tesla’s Shares Surge Culminates with Elon Musk Topping Forbes Billionaires List appeared first on Tekedia.

Space, a new decentralized prediction market protocol on Solana, has indeed raised $3 million in funding to develop what it positions as the first 10x leveraged prediction market on the network. Space allows users to trade YES/NO outcomes on real-world events (crypto prices, politics, sports, tech, culture, etc.) using up to 10x leverage, a central […] The post Implications of Space Launching the First 10x Leveraged Prediction Market on Solana appeared first on Tekedia.

Airtel Africa on Tuesday announced a sweeping partnership with SpaceX to deploy Starlink’s direct-to-cell satellite technology across all 14 countries where the telecoms group operates, a move that could significantly reshape mobile connectivity in some of Africa’s hardest-to-reach regions. The partnership is also seen as a strategic play that could reshape competition across Africa’s telecom […] The post Airtel Africa Partners with SpaceX to Bring Starlink Satellite-to-Mobile Service Across 14 Markets appeared first on Tekedia.

Volkswagen has begun real-world testing of its Gen.Urban autonomous research vehicle on the streets of Wolfsburg, Germany, as announced in mid-December 2025. This marks a new phase where the vehicle drives autonomously in urban traffic after prior closed-course trials. The Gen.Urban is a purpose-built prototype without a traditional steering wheel or pedals, designed to study […] The post Volkswagen Begins Testing of its Gen.Urban Autonomous Research Vehicle appeared first on Tekedia.

If you asked a tech CEO five years ago where their remote team was based, you’d likely hear Manila, Kyiv, or perhaps Bangalore. But as we settle into 2026, the map has been redrawn. The center of gravity for high-impact remote talent has drifted south, specifically to South Africa. This isn’t just a trend; it’s […]

Paystack, the Nigerian financial technology company providing online and offline payment solutions across Africa, has restored access to its peer-to-peer payment app, Zap, following a regulatory setback. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had fined Paystack N250 million over Zap’s initial operations, alleging that the app functioned as a deposit-taking wallet beyond the scope of […] The post Paystack Restores Zap Access, Integrates Peer-to-Peer App into Checkout After Regulatory Setback appeared first on Tekedia.

Coinbase is executing its most ambitious strategic pivot to date, moving far beyond its origins as a digital asset exchange to become a comprehensive “Everything App” for global finance. In a major “System Update” announced on December 17, 2025, the company unveiled a robust slate of products designed to challenge traditional brokerages like Robinhood and […] The post The “Everything Exchange”: Coinbase’s Making Massive Pivot Into Mainstream Global Finance appeared first on Tekedia.

Dreaming of driving a high end German car without having to break the bank? One of the best things you can do as a car buyer is invest in a used Audi. The vehicles retain their value, the performance is class leading, and the tech is often more up to date than in brand new […] The post Top Features to Consider in a Used Audi Purchase appeared first on Tekedia.

In a dramatic escalation of the battle for one of Hollywood’s most storied legacies, the board of directors for Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) has formally and unanimously rejected a $108 billion hostile takeover bid from Paramount Skydance, led by CEO David Ellison. In a blistering 1,400-word letter addressed to shareholders on Wednesday, December 17, 2025, […] The post WBD Board Rejects Paramount Takeover Attempt, Decrying Offer as ‘Illusory’ appeared first on Tekedia.

Today, a Tekedia Capital portfolio company, and one of the fastest-growing startups in its category, has crossed a major milestone: one billion pages processed by its technology. But the real achievement is not merely hitting one billion pages in a matter of months. It is who those pages were processed for. Pulse is powering workflows […] The post Tekedia Capital Congratulates Pulse for Processing 1 Billion Pages appeared first on Tekedia.

The nuclear energy sector is experiencing a financial surge reminiscent of the early days of the AI boom, with Radiant Nuclear becoming the latest beneficiary of a high-stakes investment wave. Just one day after Last Energy announced a $100 million raise, Radiant disclosed a massive $300 million Series D funding round, valuing the startup at […] The post Radiant Nuclear Secures $300m for Its 1MW Reactor at $1.8bn Valuation appeared first on Tekedia.

Hut 8’s move to lease and develop a large-scale data center in Louisiana is more than a single corporate expansion. It is another marker of how the artificial intelligence boom is reshaping the digital infrastructure industry and accelerating the decline of cryptocurrency mining as a core business model. The company announced on Wednesday that it […] The post Ex Bitcoin Miner Hut 8 Signs $7bn AI Data Center Lease, Highlighting Scramble for AI Power and Data Center Capacity appeared first on Tekedia.

Amazon is in early discussions to invest as much as $10 billion in OpenAI, highlighting how investors — including the world’s largest technology companies — continue to commit extraordinary sums to the sector, even as profitability remains elusive for most AI ventures. According to CNBC, the talks could result in OpenAI relying more heavily on […] The post Amazon Reportedly in Talks to Invest $10bn in OpenAI Even as Profit Questions Linger appeared first on Tekedia.

A California administrative law judge has issued a landmark ruling against Tesla, finding that the electric vehicle giant engaged in deceptive marketing practices regarding its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD) features. The decision, handed down by Judge Juliet Cox, marks a critical turning point in a long-standing legal battle initiated by the California Department of […] The post Tesla Faces California Sales Suspension Over ‘Deceptive’ Autopilot Marketing appeared first on Tekedia.