Bitcoin is seeing increasing popularity in Africa. It's not just those hoping to get rich quick who are getting in on the action, but more as a store of value, as a medium to transfer cash across borders, possibly as an exist out of poverty in the current political and economical uncertainty.
A couple of hours ago Business Tech reported, Red & Yellow, a business school in South Africa will be accepting Bitcoin payments for all degrees, advanced diplomas, certificates and online courses with the purpose of preparing its students for career success in a digital future.
Bitcoin isn't going to have a major impact on a developed nation with a strong political/financial/economical stability where Bitcoin is starting to get perceived more as a speculative asset, but will first thrive in a developing nation like Africa for the very reasons it was created, too small flawed banking sector with a huge unbanked population without financial freedom.
Disrupting remittances
In parts of the continent - especially commercial hubs like Lagos, Nairobi and Johannesburg - a small but growing number of people are finding that cryptocurrencies offer a cheaper solution to an expensive problem - transferring funds across borders.
With traditional remittance companies like Western Union, when you transfer money initially it goes from your local currency into dollars then on the other side they receive dollars which are then converted into the local currency.
You lose a lot of money in that conversion.
It is cheaper, especially when there is a shortage of dollars in the country or restrictions on accessing dollars.
It is also quicker because you don't have to go through long complicated bank approvals.
In Nigeria, when the government placed controls on access to the US dollar during a financial crunch, Bitcoin made it much easier for businesses to transfer cash abroad, something that has increased interest in cryptocurrencies in the country.
In places like Zimbabwe, where there has been political and economic instability, Bitcoin has become a place to store value, buy goods and services from abroad and crucially a vehicle for remittances from the diaspora.
Bitcoin classes
Martin Serugga, a sharply dressed currency trader in Kampala warns people to be cautious too. He says unfamiliarity about the new financial instruments could lead to criminals duping customers out of their money.
Nevertheless, he has started weekly classes with over 50 people attending to learn about cryptocurrencies and how to trade them against traditional currencies like the US dollar or British pound.
He says high youth unemployment in Uganda is driving interest in Bitcoin and other products.
"If you don't have factory jobs and you don't have corporate jobs to serve the thousands of young people coming out of the universities this is an alternative," he says.
Blockchain magic
But it's not just the currency aspect of this technology that people think will transform the continent.
"If African developers, entrepreneurs, and governments can leverage blockchain technologies, they may have a shot at tackling some of the continent's most intractable problems of the unbanked masses, digital identities, untrusted voting systems, to name only a few applications," Mr Blazevic explains.
"With the right support for innovation, and collaboration Africa could once again leapfrog over the digital divide and become a market leader just like it did in the move from landline communications infrastructure to the mobile phone ecosystem."
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-42582343South African business school to accept Bitcoin paymentshttps://businesstech.co.za/news/banking/218337/south-african-business-school-to-accept-bitcoin-payments/
