This investigation is in active drafting. The full address-by-address breakdown publishes here in May 2026.
AfriFlux's research uncovered that Paycrest's fiat settlement layer routes through five Bybit-hosted addresses. The investigation's methodology, full address list, percentage breakdown, and what this means for "decentralized" claims in African crypto infrastructure publish when the piece is complete.
What we found
Paycrest's gateway address (0x1fa0ee7f…) routes ~$9.6M of fiat settlement through five Bybit hot wallets:
- Bybit hot #1: ~42% share
- Bybit hot #2: ~22%
- Bybit hot #3: ~16%
- Bybit hot #4: ~10%
- Bybit hot #5: ~7%
All five resolve to Bybit-controlled custody via cross-reference with on-CEX deposit confirmations. The "decentralized" label sits on top of an architecture that, in practice, has a single CEX-shaped chokepoint.
What it means
"Decentralized infrastructure means different things to different people. AfriFlux's job is to surface what onchain evidence says — and let the protocols speak for themselves about how they describe their settlement layer."
The piece will not editorialize beyond the evidence. It will publish:
- The full Paycrest gateway address graph
- The 5 Bybit hot wallets, with cross-reference proofs
- Volume-by-percentage breakdown over 180 days
- Paycrest's response to AfriFlux's pre-publication outreach
Methodology
Coming soon — full methodology + address-by-address breakdown publishes in May 2026 alongside the open methodology playbook.