Nigeria’s Wicrypt Network, a decentralised mobile internet sharing and monetisation network, has expanded its integration with peaq, a blockchain for real-world applications.
Founded in 2018, Wicrypt is a decentralized WiFi internet sharing and monetization network that allows anyone to get paid for sharing their WiFi. Wicrypt is the first African company to build a peer-to-peer infrastructure for sharing mobile internet data without need for third-party integration.
Disrupt Africa reported in November 2021 the startup closed a strategic US$1.5 million funding round to help it expand into new countries, since when it has established more than 1,000 hotspot hubs across the world.
peaq, meanwhile, has developed a layer-1 blockchain that enables anyone to build decentralised applications and decentralised physical infrastructure networks for car-sharing, street-mapping, web access, and more.
The first Wicrypt WiFi hotspots are already live on krest, peaq’s sister blockchain, outfitted with their unique peaq IDs. The new version of the Wicrypt operating system makes the devices compatible with peaq off-the-shelf, making it easier for people purchasing them to connect them with the network.
“We are thrilled to be moving ahead with this integration and bringing the first hotspots live on krest,” said Ugochukwu Aronu, CEO at Wicrypt. “As a production-grade network, krest gives us a perfect testing environment for everything we build on peaq, and in the longer term, it will boost the rewards users earn on our DePIN ecosystem. It’s the perfect incentivisation mechanism to power connecting the disconnected.”