What is the legal status of Bitcoin in Africa? It’s legal, just like poker chips!

Rage Comment : The news that a South African law firm supports Bitcoin payments quickly occupied the global headlines. South Africa is one of the countries with the largest number of digital currency users. South Africa has a legitimate legal status in cryptocurrencies, and its acceptance is increasing. In the future, the South African government authorities are also preparing to modify or revise the regulatory system to promote the adoption of Bitcoin in South Africa. Many challenges facing Africa can be solved by Bitcoin, so the demand for Bitcoin is even stronger. Early on, Barclays Group Africa joined the R3 Blockchain Group and conducted a series of blockchain experiments aimed at promoting distributed ledger technology to the global financial market.

Translation: Nicole

According to Crypto Coins News, like most countries in the world, cryptocurrencies have a legal status in South Africa and their acceptance is increasing, but regulatory measures are not in place, although this situation can be improved.

According to Coin Telegraph, data from fiatleak.com (which provides factual data on global currency exchange for Bitcoin) shows that South Africa is one of the countries with the largest number of digital currency users.

Kerri Crawford, a technology attorney at global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright, said that the news that a local law firm in South Africa supported Bitcoin payments quickly made headlines around the world, and the South African government is also preparing to formulate Bitcoin regulatory policies in the future.

Kerri Crawford

Kerri Crawford said: “As Bitcoin and other digital currencies gain acceptance in South Africa, it is possible that South African authorities will follow the same path as other jurisdictions and look to modify or revise the regulatory regime.”

South Africa hosted the first-ever World Bitcoin Conference in Africa, and the benefits of Bitcoin have been growing after Bidorbuy, South Africa’s largest online marketplace with more than 30 million page views per month, enabled Bitcoin payments between buyers and sellers.

Birorbuy said: "We encourage sellers to provide Bitcoin payment services because Bitcoin payment is risk-free and can reach a large number of new online shopping groups."

According to a report in the Miami Herald, when it comes to Bitcoin, the world is looking for rules and regulations that are legal and illegal. A Miami-Dade County judge dismissed a Bitcoin money laundering indictment on Monday, ruling that Bitcoin is not real money. According to the Miami Herald, the case has been closely watched by financial and technology circles.

The judge cited the felony case of website designer Michell Espinoza, who illegally transferred $1,500 worth of Bitcoin, as an example of Bitcoin money laundering. He sold the Bitcoin to an undercover detective who wanted to use the money to buy stolen credit card numbers. Circuit Judge Teresa Mary Pooler said Florida law states that money laundering charges can be filed if the money is used in financial transactions for illegal activities, but the law does not specify Bitcoin.

Teresa Mary Pooler

“The court is not an expert in the economic field; however, we all know that Bitcoin has a long way to go before it can be considered an asset class, given that there are many people who know the field well,” Pooler wrote.

If Bitcoin is not money, what is it?

Citigroup Research released a 56-page report that discusses in detail the difference between digital currencies and digital funds. Most funds today are digital, from bank account balances to gift cards in payment apps. The records of funds are also digital. In this centralized model, users must request custody to transfer money, even if the entire process is digital.

According to Crypto Coins News, unlike digital money, digital currencies are decentralized, allowing digital value transfers, clearing and settlement to occur almost instantly, and cryptocurrencies ensure that only the holder of a private key can authorize a transaction.

There are more and more Bitcoin mobile applications in developing countries, but the report says that regulation is becoming a headache. Citi claims that the current payment system is generally efficient. The report also mentions government-backed digital currencies and summarizes the legal status of Bitcoin in various countries. The report believes that government-backed digital currencies can subvert the current payment system, although these products are still in the development stage and face many uncertainties.

Charles Evans, an economics professor at Barry University in Florida, who testified in the Miami case, believes that Bitcoin is not real money. He said Bitcoin is not backed by a central government or bank, and that government regulation of Bitcoin in various countries is a mess, with the IRS considering Bitcoin transactions as barter. According to the Miami Herald, law enforcement is trying to figure out how Bitcoin is involved in illegal activities. Espinoza's case is believed to be the first money laundering indictment involving virtual currencies. Authorities are very concerned that digital currencies will be used in the black market because Bitcoin was once used to resell drugs on the closed Silk Road network. In another unrelated South Florida case, a Miami man was sentenced to ten years in prison after using Bitcoin to buy Chinese-made synthetic heroin from Canadian prisoners.

“Basically, all people wanted to buy from you were poker chips,” Evans, a digital currency expert, said in his affidavit for the defendant, who said he paid $3,000 worth of bitcoin.

Evans said in an interview with the Miami Herald on Monday that the judge's ruling could effectively promote the development of Bitcoin in Miami and in countries with underdeveloped banking systems.

According to Coin Telegraph, Llew Claasen, executive director of the Bitcoin Foundation, believes that Africa is not lagging behind in Bitcoin adoption. In fact, the level of Bitcoin adoption in Africa is on par with the global level. Claasen said that compared with other parts of the world, Bitcoin is still less used in some parts of Africa, but for a continent dominated by mobile phones, Bitcoin can be an option to deal with some challenges.

Llew Claasen

“Many of the challenges facing Africa can be solved with Bitcoin, so the demand for Bitcoin is even stronger, and African Bitcoin dividends can exceed the global average,” Claasen told Coin Telegraph.

Citi Research has previously completed three reports on blockchain - the technology used in bitcoin - concluding that it is best used in transactions where parties must share information.

According to Crypto Coins News, the report states that the decentralized nature of blockchain can save costs for institutions that spend a lot of resources to verify data information. Citi believes that open networks like Bitcoin, combined with machine learning, the Internet of Things (IoT), mobile phones and big data, can develop many new models.

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Barclays Africa Group has been experimenting with blockchain for some time and has now joined the R3 blockchain consortium of more than 50 banks and financial institutions aimed at bringing distributed ledger technology to global financial markets.

According to an earlier report by AFKInsider, this is the first bank in Africa to conduct a blockchain trial.

Barclays Africa is piloting more than a dozen blockchain-based experiments and research initiatives, according to Andrew Baker, chief information officer of Barclays Africa’s corporate and investment bank.

Baker said.Baker said that with the support of industry alliances like R3 and growing regulatory acceptance, he believes that blockchain will be accepted faster and faster around the world, and disruptive innovation will become more mainstream. Baker said: "We see great potential for African financial institutions to accept disruptive technologies like blockchain and use these technologies to bring convenience and improve the lives of consumers and individuals. However, to realize the true value of blockchain technology, we need to work together to develop shared solutions to common problems."