Tens of Thousands of Merchants Accept Bitcoin in South Africa as Government is Friendly

Werner van Rooyen, head of Business Development and Growth at Bitx, the biggest Bitcoin exchange in South Africa in terms of user base and average trading volume, speaks with Cointelegraph about the penetration of Bitcoin in South Africa.
Cointelegraph: How would you evaluate Bitcoin demand in South Africa?
Werner van Rooyen: The demand for Bitcoin is based on the potential that the cryptocurrency has; either as an improved payment technology (means of payment) or as an alternative asset class (storage of wealth).
CT: Could you paint a vivid picture of the Bitcoin Start-up landscape in South Africa?
WR: The biggest adoption of Bitcoin in South Africa seems to be investors using it as a store of wealth. We’ve seen a big increase in the amount of investors and funds dedicating a section of their portfolio to Bitcoin. This enables companies like BitX to provide Bitcoin exchange, wallet and storage services.
There are interesting local Blockchain startups, notably Custos Tech that provides digital media privacy and assists with content distribution.
There’s also an increasing Bitcoin adoption by merchants, online and offline.

This post was published at Coin Telegraph on 2016-09-27.