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KuBitX, a Pan-African financial technology startup registered in Malta, has announced the launch of its new cryptocurrency exchange. The platform will run in its beta version until October 15, while official live trading will begin seven days later.

The platform will support seven digital coins for the test phase, including Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and will initially be available only to Nigerian users before expanding to other African countries.

“When fully operational, for example, a Nigerian who is a resident of the U.K. will be able to send money back home by depositing BCH through KuBitX. The recipient in Nigeria will then be able to withdraw the funds in naira,” said Victor Philips, Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer at KuBitX.

According to a statement released by KuBitX on Thursday, 150 people qualified for the company’s open invitation to prospective beta test users. With the beta release, users will be able to try out the exchange’s trading, deposit and withdrawal interface, and other features using a demo token.

“The first rollout spot for crypto-to-fiat conversions and bill payments using crypto is Nigeria – a suitable destination to test our platform, as the country boast of the largest population and active youth with massive crypto adoption, ranking sixth globally,” said Philips. “Once the beta test is done, we will have a one-week window to implement any suggestions received from the users.”

He added that the exchange will be opening new trading platforms in Zimbabwe, Angola, Ghana, South Africa, Kenya and Uganda after it completes its planned $12.5 million initial coin offering later this year.

Earlier this year, KuBitX signed an agreement with Interswitch to operate its fiat-to-crypto payments and remittance business in Nigeria, Kenya and Uganda. It also signed similar deals with Modulus Global and NEM Foundation.

Founded in 2017, KuBitX is a hybrid digital asset exchange that leverages distributed ledger technology to facilitate payments throughout Africa and beyond.