Bitcoin Forum

Growing Hot Spot for Bitcoin Adoption I have been working inside the Bitcoin and Crypto Currency industry for quite some time and have connections all over the world. However it has only been in the last few months that I have found anyone inside South Africa really pushing for mainstream adoption. Following is…
http://www.altcointoday.com/kelvin-south-africa/

" At the time of this posting BTC is trading internationally around $450 USD. However due to the difficulties within the nation they are forced to pay $30 to $70 dollars per coin more. We did try to use Coinbase but unfortunately the Fiat to BTC service is still not in place. We are continuing to source ways for South Africans to purchase BTC at fair market rates. We would invite anyone to comment if they have found a reliable way of doing so."

Is the electricity price in the South Africa cheap? If so, they can buy miners from China and mine there.

Well the ZAR has been on a continuous downward trend against the dollar for the last 1 year.
This is the driver for increased interest in Bitcoin.
Bitcoin seems to be driven more by follies of governments than anything else.  ;D

Damn it seems like developing countries, i.e Brazil, South Africa, etc are benefiting from Bitcoin.
Have high hopes for South Africa though.

Developing countries and high inflation seem to go together.
Governments think they can spend their way out of poverty. Consequently inflation and erosion of purchasing power are prevalent.
Bitcoin has an excellent chance of succeeding under such conditions.

Absolutely, and I wonder if these countries would rise to power in the new age of Bitcoin. Maybe they will become the new global superpowers, only time will tell.

Bitcoin price in SA is also getting fueled by MMM and other get rich quick ponzi schemes, not only the USD to ZAR price difference. The electricity in South Africa is sketchy during winter when everyone uses more heaters, kettles and stoves etc., so we have 'load shedding', where certain areas of the country have no power at all for an hour or two every day. It's also hot, so cooling effectively costs more money, so its not really profitable. Ordering mining equipment online also takes ages to get here since the postal system is so bad, and if you use a courier company, the cost needs to be factored into the price...and its really expensive to send equipment here.

At the moment I am not mining at all because its just not profitable enough, and the risk of not breaking even is too high. Its far more profitable to do arbitrage between exchanges like www.bitx.co.za and www.ice3x.com.