The concept of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has continued to gain recognition in different parts of the world. Now, that popularity has stretched out to reach South Africa.
But the question is, why?
This popularity can be attributed to the way bitcoin has been pumped into the economic system of South Africa. Now, if you didn’t know, bitcoin, as well as other cryptocurrencies, are mostly bought or transferred between individual on exchanges. So, you don’t need to own the currency before you can use physically.
This alone has made bitcoin popular around the world.
However, in this article, we’ll be looking at some causative factors that have led to the popularity of bitcoin in South Africa.
So, let’s dive right into it, shall we? What are these factors?
1. Businesses In South Africa Now Accept bitcoin
There is an increasing figure in the number of South Africa businesses that are beginning to accept bitcoin as a method of payment. This is mainly because customers are requesting it. And customers are always right, isn’t it?
Some of the benefits that have made South African businesses to embrace the idea of bitcoin is that there are no fees or charges, plus it is cheaper than using credit cards. Also, they finally have a way to escape the costs that come with whatever business they are into. How? Well, now they can buy bitcoin in South Africa and use it for their business.
2. Tourists In South Africa Use bitcoin
Every day, there is an increase in the number of tourists that use bitcoin when traveling. This way, they can take advantage of being able to access their money from anywhere safely they are, as long as they have internet access. Plus, they can also buy bitcoin in South Africa and use it right there.
Interestingly, some travelers blog about using bitcoin ATMs in different cities that they visited, rather than using the currency exchangers at different airports. With these ATMs, they say they can easily travel with money and still avoid having to wait for opening hours or pay outrageous exchanges rates.
With South Africa being one of the biggest names in the tourism industry, more businesses are seeing the need to accept bitcoin as a method of payment from foreigners.
3. Growing Amount of bitcoin Traders
bitcoin traders within South Africa are constantly growing. Plus, they find the volatility of the bitcoin market as a fertile area for price speculation.
A lot of users are letting go of forex and finding ways to buy bitcoin in South Africa and trade it instead. On top of that, there are different bitcoin exchanges South Africans can have access to. Hence, they can take full advantage of opportunities that may arise.
Professional traders are also making use of the bitcoin-otc trading platform to wire money out of South Africa to international bitcoin exchanges. This way, they can buy bitcoin at foreign rates which is quite lower than local exchange rates.
4. Purchase of Mining Rigs
At some point, there was a lot of talk about the shortage of graphics cards in South Africa. This was because many crypto miners were purchasing all the high-end GPUs.
This shortage was attributed to the huge search for crypto mining rigs that are used to mine bitcoin with services like NiceHash.
To Wrap It Up
So, the number of people that know about how to buy bitcoin in South Africa and use it might not be that much. However, these highlighted factors have caused bitcoin to become more popular in South Africa than it was before.
