Bitcoin is Trading at a 40% Premium in Africa – Here’s Why

[mayuri27]

This week bitcoin surpassed $19,000 on global exchanges, with the exception of one continent – Africa. Customers of the world’s second largest and second most populous continent were already paying that much per coin back in November. Prices at Africa’s Golix.com exchange have been 40% higher than the rest of the word for months. Now news.Bitcoin.com can reveal why.

On November 15, it was revealed that Zimbabweans were paying $13,500 for bitcoin, a sum that was described at the time as “eye-watering”. Last month’s expensive bitcoin is this month’s cheap bitcoin, and the intense demand for the digital currency has since pushed it to over $19,000 globally as of this writing. The premium that’s been in place at the continent’s Golix exchange remains in place though. As a consequence, one bitcoin there is currently trading for around $32,000, down slightly from a peak of $34,000.

Citizens of Zimbabwe Use Bitcoin to Access International Markets“Who’s talking about us?” runs a banner on the homepage of Golix alongside logos for media organizations that include CNN, CNBC, Reuters, and news.Bitcoin.com. Everyone in bitcoin is talking about Golix and they’re all asking the same question – why? Why is it so expensive to acquire the virtual currency in Africa? The answer comes from a recent blog post on Golix which outlines the factors that have contributed to the premium price.

[CryptoLDK]

If you don't have a reliable currency of your own, you are a lot more succeptible to use a foreign coin. That includes BTC.
But probably they are actually using it, not (just) hodl'ing it. So perhaps the fees are a bit steep.

[Kprawn]

The Zimbabweans have to use other currencies, because their own currency collapsed. Nobody wants to accept their weak

currency, because it is too volatile. At one stage they used the US Dollar and the South African Rand {ZAR} as their local

currency. It makes sense to use a borderless currency like Bitcoin for global trade.