London-based ONEm Communications has declared the launch of its mCoin program across Africa. Designed to be a hybrid currency, mCoin is a digital currency which will be transferred over text or through the smartphone app. Africa is a continent with millions of people that have access to mobile phones but little to no internet connectivity. ONEm needs to bring the advantage of cryptocurrency to millions of the unbanked in Africa through the mCoin program.

ONEm Communications is a tech startup that develops advanced platforms supporting an ecosystem of services. The ecosystem is a set of interactive services that seeks to transform the way people communicate and access information on mobile.

In an interview with Bitcoin Magazine, ONEm Co-Founder & chief executive officer Christopher Richardson said the reception for the mCoin in Africa has been “tremendous.” He believes the blockchain will be combined with mobile technology to connect the unbanked in Africa.

"We believe when combined with informational and community-based services; this can leverage their happiness by giving them simple and effective tools that stretch their capabilities. Africa is simply the beginning; we'll be launching in several countries all over the planet to allow everybody to enjoy cryptocurrency on ordinary mobiles."

Crypto wallet

The ONEm wallet is a digital wallet that allows users to send mCoin to others in the community, by means of a wallet address in the form of a username. Users can also send mCoin from an offline SMS wallet to the digital wallet. Richardson, who has experience in the telecommunications sector, says the SMS wallet is secure as it's not connected to the internet. The SMS wallet was created to mirror a cold storage wallet.

The SMS wallet works with a group of shortcodes that gives choices to the user, such as sending mCoin and viewing the wallet address. According the company, users can send mCoin to another SMS wallet or to a digital ONEm wallet using the shortcodes.

While Richardson believes the funds in the offline SMS wallet are secure, there's still a high risk of losing tokens if the registered phone falls into the incorrect hands. Also, not like hot wallets, the SMS wallet does not have the potential to enable two-factor authentication, which acts as an additional layer of security for wallets.

Earning and trading mCoin

For now, users can only earn the token by collaborating in a “Pseudo-Mining” program — a form of mining activity that rewards users for their activities on the platform with points (mPoints), which are then converted into mCoin. The company plans to add an choice for users to buy mCoin with their phone credit in the future.

Richardson says the users will be able to trade their mCoin on both native and international exchanges, but he refused to mention any names. mCoin has a growing community of over 80,000 users, and it presently operates in seven African countries.