We continue a series of publications about attempts by world states to regulate cryptocurrency transactions. This time we will talk about the most developed country on the African continent: the Republic of South Africa.
South Africa is one of the most racially diverse countries in Africa, with a huge proportion of white, Asian and mixed populations on the continent. In addition, the republic has rich mineral resources, and is also the most economically developed state in Africa, occupying a very strong global position. This is the only African country that is part of the G20.
However, it is in South Africa, along with other African countries, that the price of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is inflated by an average of 10-15% of the world average price. And this is due, first of all, to the high liquidity of digital gold, the demand for which constantly exceeds the available supply on local cryptocurrency exchanges. True, there is an opinion that the second reason why the price is too high is the unbearable, in terms of temperature, conditions for mining equipment, as well as the lack of normal high-speed Internet. There are no miners, there is no free “crypto mass”, hence the outflow of bitcoin and speculation against this background.
According to the observations of experts, a constant increase in the volume of the cryptocurrency market is being recorded in South Africa. Bitcoin remains the most popular cryptocurrency in South Africa (89%), followed by Ephereum (51.05%), and Bitcoin Cash (32.59%) in third place. The most popular exchanges with online wallet functions are Luno, Bittrex and Poloniex. This kind of Blockchain boom is caused not only by the recently heated interest on the part of the South Africans themselves, but also in general by the loyal attitude of the African authorities towards the emergence and promotion of all kinds of startups in this area.
The years 2015-2017 in South Africa were marked by the fact that many local private companies introduced payment methods using bitcoin. Thus, Pick’n’Pay, the second largest chain of grocery supermarkets in South Africa, offered to sell food products for bitcoin. Meanwhile, a number of South African companies involved in collecting fines for traffic violations have begun to use cryptocurrency as a means of payment.
ICE3X, a startup operating in South Africa and Nigeria, became one of the first exchangers that allows you to purchase bitcoin for local currencies.
However, the presence of almost the entire cryptocurrency economy in the shadows is causing concern on the part of the South African government.. As a result, in December 2017, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) decided to commission a study to develop algorithms and methods for tracking cryptocurrency transactions in the country. To this end, SARS turned to the world's leading tech companies that provide similar services to the British and Canadian governments.
Be that as it may, South Africa is truly a cryptocurrency paradise for any investors. Here, bitcoin has long been not only a means of payment, but also a real investment instrument, which is used by every second resident of the country.
Despite the fact that the South African Central Bank does not recognize bitcoin as legal tender, it is a leader among its foreign colleagues in introducing any pilot projects related to cryptocurrencies and aimed at introducing Blockchain into all areas of life.
Which in turn pleases us and shows us the incredible potential of this technology on the scale of a multi-million country with people of the most different skin color, nationality and religion.
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