The downside to blockchain and bitcoin uptake in Africa

Some business leaders in Africa have reservations about the strength of blockchain technology as a means through which to increase the continent’s internet penetration.

Startup pitches Bitcoin as solution to Zim economic hardship

“Keeping it real, most African economies are still controlled by neocolonialism,” he says. “The West has more to say about African financial markets than the finance ministers of these African countries. World Bank, IMF along with large multinationals don’t fund serious research and development in Africa. So innovations like Bitcoin aren’t a priority to these powerful African influencers. It’s gonna take the local indigenous business persons and farmers to see the value of Bitcoin and overthrow the legacy of the oppressive colonial financial system in Africa.”

Complex Bitcoin Phishing Scheme Revealed – Cisco’s OpenDNS Security Team

Criminals have started staging phishing campaigns having discovered that Bitcoin can provide an easier way to steal, says Cisco’s OpenDNS security team after they revealed a complex phishing scheme aimed at collecting user credentials from various Bitcoin-related services.

Bitcoin Price Rises Sharply After the UK Votes to Leave the EU, Trading Volumes Big

The Bitcoin market has welcomed the outcome of the Brexit vote in the UK with open arms as the price of its currency soars following a falling trend in recent days. The price of Bitcoin dipped to as low as $583 just before the June 23 Brexit voting day – a sharp drop from its two-and-a-half year high of nearly $775 on June 17. However, after votes were cast, with a win for the Brexit supporters, the digital currency gained in value to over $650 – a 24-hour recovery for a seven-day drop.

Bitcoin Powered Cooperative Search Engine Introduces Search Mining

Launched in September 2015, SearchTrade has already sold 1321 keywords as part of its search mining concept. SearchTrade works like any other search engine, but takes its revenue from the advertisers, and uses Bitcoin to distribute it back to users. In this way, people become active participants with technological resources being distributed evenly.

South African to head Bitcoin’s global body

Cape-based venture capitalist Llew Claasen, a managing partner at Newtown Partners, has been named as the new Executive Director of the Bitcoin Foundation. The move could boost the level of adoption of the cryptocurrency in Africa, say industry insiders.

Bitcoin Better at Being Gold Than Gold, Winklevoss Twins Say

The  Winklevoss Twins have described Bitcoin as better than gold because it experiences ‘a lot less volatility’ and is a better store of value at the moment. They cited a Wall Street Journal story in May which described how the virtual currency has been more stable than gold over the last 28 days.  

IMF Magazine Examines Present and Future of Bitcoin

In its quarterly, the IMF examines how Bitcoin and its blockchain technology may end up helping banks, despite being created to help avoid them.

Land registry based on blockchain for Africa

A not-for-profit organisation Bitland is introducing a digital registry system based on blockchain – the technology which drives the digital currency Bitcoin – to ensure proper land registration and property in parts of Africa.

Sub-Saharan Africa most fertile for Bitcoin adoption

A forecast by a London School of Economics author has positioned Nigeria and Zimbabwe among top 10 countries with the highest relative potential for Bitcoin adoption.

Zimbabwe’s Cash Crisis Is Bitcoin’s Boost?

A recent survey by The Zimbabwe Standard has shown that a number of banks in the central business district of the country’s capital, Harare, has long queues to withdraw cash with others running out of cash by midday.

Bitcoin in Africa Could Leapfrog Just Like Cellular Phones Replaced Landline

Werner van Rooyen, head of Business Development and Growth at Bitx, one of Africa’s biggest Bitcoin exchanges, on the problems and potential of Bitcoin in Africa.

Ghana: First Comes Internet Security, Then Bitcoin

Ghana seeks to secure transactions on the Internet first and only then start a discussion on Bitcoin adoption.

Bitcoin Adoption in Africa Up Due to Trading, Remittances, Freelancing, Mining Remains Low

Bitcoin users in parts of Africa have an almost non-existent mining practice yet the virtual currency’s level of adoption is driving more Africans to its trade. Aside from a Ghanaian firm, Ghana Dot Com (GDC), which claimed it has launched the first Bitcoin mining facility in Africa in March, most mining efforts in parts of Africa are usually done on an individual basis or crowd mining with little or no chance of profitability. This is due to several factors.

British Commonwealth Adopts Blockchain to Fight Cross-Border Crime

The British Commonwealth announced on 3rd May that there is a project to develop a Blockchain app to combat cross-border crime.  A secure messaging system will be created to help law enforcement and prosecutors in member countries to co-operate more effectively in criminal investigations.

Bitcoin in India, Nigeria, Kenya to Spur Global ATM Market

The growing need for automated teller machines including Bitcoin ATMs in developing nations such as Nigeria, India, and Kenya is propelling the growth of the global ATM market, says Technavio’s latest global ATM market report.

Ghana’s Anti-Money Laundering Body Cites Virtual Currency Use as National Security Risk

Ghana’s Financial Intelligence Centre says the use of virtual markets and virtual currencies such as bitcoin and kitiwa is a severe risk to the country’s security. The assessment is based on available international records that show insurgencies have been funded from Ghana. Saddled with combating money laundering and terrorist financing, the centre is now working to make Ghana the first country in West Africa to publish its national risk assessment.

From Remittance to Startups, How Bitcoin Is Used in Africa

With the high mobile phone penetration already in place, Africa is set to enable more users to download a Bitcoin wallet on their devices. In an email last year, Werner van Rooyen from Bitx, one of Africa’s biggest Bitcoin exchange firms, wrote that Africa has been waiting for something like Bitcoin for a long time.

Why? He said the continent of over a billion people has been underserved by financial institutions for such a long time.