South Africa becomes the first African country to get a Bitcoin vending machine

By
Robin Okuthe
-
0
1921

South Africa has installed its first Bitcoin vending machine, which gives users the ability to receive Bitcoin in exchange for rand.

Bitcoin machine

The Bitcoin vending machine is located in Kyalami, north of Johannesburg at a business called Metroman, which is a friend’s shop that opened on June 1, 2014.

Rolf Deppe and Monre Botes his business partner decided in February to bring a Bitcoin vending machine in South Africa since at that time there were only 100 all over the world though none on the African continent.

The major difference between a Bitcoin vending machine and a Bitcoin ATM is that the former offers Botcoin in exchange for a local currency while the latter dispenses cash for Bitcoins.

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Deppe is currently writing apps that can be used with Bitcoin though he is also an iOS application and Android developer. Additionally, he is looking to set up a Bitcoin exchange within South Africa, which will not be the first though.

To obtain Bitcoin at the vending machine, users are required to have a Bitcoin wallet installed on their smartphone. Numerous apps are available though the most preferred options include Mycelium for Android and Blockchain for iOS. These apps produce a QR code, which the Bitcoin vending machine can read and use to deposit the bought virtual currency.

“The use of Bitcoin by vendors in South Africa is however very limited and the idea now is to teach merchants about Bitcoin,” said Deppes.

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