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Giving Financial Freedom through Bitcoin – A Story from South Africa

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Giving Financial Freedom through Bitcoin - A Story from South Africa

Among the many benefits of cryptocurrencies, the world is discovering the help they can bring to poorer countries. In addition, cryptocurrencies can play an important role when centralized money isn’t easily accessible.

As an example, today, we will talk about an exciting story from South Africa. In this region, in sub-urban areas, Bitcoin adoption could change the lives of several people.

Hermann Vivier and Bitcoin Ekasi

Increasingly, we hear stories demonstrating the growth of cryptocurrencies in geographic areas with challenging social backgrounds. From Venezuela to Brazil, Bitcoin and other crypto are giving new financial possibilities to the poorest families.

That of Hermann Vivier, founder of Bitcoin Ekasi, represents one of the most recent stories in this area. The word “ekasi” indicates those suburban areas of South Africa born during the apartheid period.

In English, people refer to these areas as “townships”. However, these areas are among the poorest in the country, as many reports show.

This non-profit organization intends to introduce a circular economy system based on Bitcoin. The project has a partnership with “The Surfer Kids”, which helps poor young people through surfing.

Towards a more crypto-friendly world

You might have heard of the Bitcoin Beach project, born in El Salvador.

The country has accepted Bitcoin since 2021 and is home to one of the most famous crypto charity projects in the world. Vivier drew inspiration from Bitcoin Beach and now aims to change the lives of South African communities.

While Vivier was busy with “The Surfer Kids” children, he came up with a bold vision. He desired to create a small economy entirely based on Bitcoins.

After a shop joined the project, many others in the township expressed interest.

The number of stores that accept Bitcoin in the area where Vivier operates is three. The project’s founder is in contact with other stores, ready to join this initiative.

Vivier shares videos explaining how simple it is to pay in Bitcoin in a store between one deal and another. The activist hopes to help many shopkeepers overcome their initial skepticism with this operation.

Being a small economy, the amount of Bitcoin in circulation does not need to be high. Also, consulting the social pages of the initiative, we notice the frequent mentions of Satoshis.

We need to mention that the Satoshi (or SAT) is simply a fraction of Bitcoin for those who don’t know. Specifically, one could break down Bitcoin into 100 million Satoshi.

The organization has an updated map that informs us about the project’s progress. The JCC Camp Township represents the first experiment in the country.

While converting Bitcoin to Fiat money is relatively straightforward, Vivier has ambitious goals. In fact, in his mind, the conversion of Sat into Rand should not be necessary.

Excluding Fiat money from the township could face local political resistance. If Vivier intends to continue down this path, most stores will need to be convinced to accept Bitcoin.

Empowering struggling communities

Vivier explained how poverty is often linked to misconceptions in a recent interview. For example, many argue that poor people are unable to save.

Many economic studies show the groundlessness of this statement. To simplify, we can say that the propensity to consume is very high only in the poorest families. However, this is not a choice but a necessity.

Expanding the speech to the macroeconomic scenario, the eyes of the South African regulator are studying cryptocurrencies carefully. A rumor circulated in 2021 reported the interest of the national authority on the issue.

The adoption of cryptocurrencies is growing, but individual countries still move independently. This, as explained by the IMF, can create several inefficiencies.

What is the point of imposing stringent rules on cryptocurrencies in one country if other economies decide not to intervene? In the eyes of the IMF, banning cryptos in a country means moving cryptocurrencies abroad.

The hope for these non-profit organizations is that the regulator is genuinely acting in the interest of the citizens. But unfortunately, sometimes, secondary purposes are hidden behind a regulatory intervention.

Think, for example, of China, which imposes increasingly stringent policies on cryptocurrencies to favor its own Digital Yuan. Although it is undeniable that the world of cryptocurrencies needs to give more protection to citizens, not all authorities act in this way.

What can South Africa learn from this initiative?

This story from South Africa teaches us several things. First of all, not many dare to create a circular economy based on cryptocurrencies.

This experiment may appear unrealistic in a large and affluent metropolis. Wealthy families can be scared of BTC’s famous volatility, but this is often not the case in poorer areas.

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Things can change when you live in a country with high inflation or not enough money to eat. Nevertheless, Vivier’s attempt is courageous, and it will be fascinating to monitor his developments in the coming months.

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Born in Italy, Gianluca is a finance and data specialist, coming from an academic education at Sorbonne University in Paris and a career as Senior Advisor at Ernst & Young in the Banking and Blockchain sector.

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