Busha Brings Its African Crypto Hustle to the UK, Teams Up with Uphold for the Ride

Busha, the digital asset platform that's been building street cred across Africa, is venturing beyond its home turf with a little help from Uphold. The company has tapped the on-chain finance infrastructure provider to support its UK launch, marking a fresh chapter in its growth story and a textbook example of cross-border crypto expansion. Consider it the African fintech equivalent of finally getting invited to the cool kids' table—except the cool kids are FCA-regulated and the table is the British financial system.

The partnership will let Busha serve UK residents with access to on-chain financial services through its customer app, connected directly to Uphold's infrastructure. Users in the UK can now buy, sell, and hold a range of cryptocurrencies on the Busha platform, opening the door to a broader set of digital asset services in a market with growing crypto appetite. It's basically giving the UK a taste of what Africa's been vibing with since 2019—except now with more tea and fewer power outages.

Busha already has over a million customers across Africa, particularly in Nigeria and Kenya. Since launching in 2019, the company has positioned itself as a platform shaping the future of money on the continent. Moving into the UK feels like a natural next step as demand grows for financial services that work smoothly across borders. Think of it as crypto's version of an athlete going pro after dominating the minor leagues—except the minor leagues were full of currency devaluation and limited banking access.

"The UK expansion makes a lot of sense, particularly because of the long-standing family and historical connections between the UK and many African countries," said Michael Adeyeri, Bush's CEO. The company sees real value in serving families with connections in both regions and believes UK residents should be able to access a full range of digital assets through Busha. Nothing says "global financial inclusion" quite like a platform that finally bridges the gap between your uncle in Lagos who needs to send money home and your cousin in London who's been maxing out her Revolut card.

The expansion wasn't exactly a flip-of-the-switch situation. Busha already has a reputation for compliance and was among the first crypto exchanges to secure a provisional licence to operate as a digital asset exchange under Nigeria's licensing framework. But bringing its services to the UK meant navigating a fresh set of regulatory demands and infrastructure requirements. You know, the usual fun of trying to explain to one regulator why you already have permission from another regulator in a completely different jurisdiction—classic regulatory whack-a-mole.

The company faced a choice: build the necessary capabilities internally and go through the registration process solo, which could have taken years, or partner with a provider that already had the required systems in place. Busha ultimately selected Uphold because of its compliance-first approach, its understanding of UK regulatory expectations, and its track record working with regulators in the country. Sometimes the smart move isn't building your own rocket—it's just booking a seat on one that's already cleared takeoff.

For Uphold, the partnership adds another proof point for how its infrastructure can help fintech and crypto companies expand without starting from scratch in each new market. Robin O'Connell, CEO of Uphold Enterprise, said the arrangement addresses exactly the kind of challenge blockchain-powered finance was designed to solve: moving value digitally to anyone, anywhere with an internet connection, at any time. Uphold was proud to help get Bush's UK digital asset services up and running in just a matter of months. Yes, that "months" part is the flex—because building regulatory compliance from zero usually takes longer than a crypto bull run's patience.

The timing matters. As more crypto companies look for ways to enter new jurisdictions while staying on the right side of local compliance rules, partnerships like this are becoming a practical route to growth. Instead of spending years building out every piece of infrastructure independently, firms can work with regulated providers that already have the technical and legal foundations in place. It's basically the difference between building your own house brick by brick versus moving into a fully furnished one—except the house is made of compliance frameworks and the furniture is AML procedures.

Busha’s UK service is available starting today, giving the company a foothold in one of the world's most closely watched financial markets. The launch may also signal broader ambitions ahead. Busha said it is evaluating a possible business-to-business offering that would provide international payment services to other service providers on its platform, suggesting the UK expansion could eventually become part of a much larger commercial strategy. Translation: the Africa playbook worked, now let's see if it plays in Covent Garden—and possibly everywhere else.

Uphold has built its brand around the idea that on-chain services are the future of finance. The company offers infrastructure for on-chain payments, banking, and investments, and serves millions of customers in more than 140 countries. It connects with more than 30 trading venues, including both centralized and decentralized exchanges, to provide liquidity, resilience, and efficient execution. Uphold also