What is bitcoin?
Bitcoin is a digital currency, think of it as money for the Internet including Zimbabwe. Well, it’s going to take more than just one sentence to really understand bitcoin. So if you’d like to know more about it, you can watch the videos below.
[tzyoutube playlist=”Bitcoin”]
Who controls the Bitcoin network?
Nobody owns the Bitcoin network much like no one owns the technology behind email. Bitcoin is controlled by all Bitcoin users around the world. While developers are improving the software, they can’t force a change in the Bitcoin protocol because all users are free to choose what software and version they use.
How can you buy or sell bitcoin in Zimbabwe
You can buy or sell bitcoin in Zimbabwe the same way it’s bought or sold globally – from a bitcoin exchange. In Zimbabwe we have 1 bitcoin Exchange:
Which companies/merchants accept bitcoin payment in Zimbabwe?
- BitMari.com – a bitcoin remittance service that has a partnership with a bank in Zimbabwe
- BeForward – they sell second-hand cars from Japan over the internet. They have an arrangement with Golix above for the facilitation of the purchase of cars using bitcoins. We wrote about it last year here.
Are you a business that wants to start accepting bitcoin
You can start accepting bitcoin if you’re business. Ofcourse this has to be part of a strategy; you shouldn’t accept bitcoin for the sake of it. Companies that provide bitcoin merchant services include the following:
Is it Legal to Use bitcoin in Zimbabwe?
The financial industry regulatory authority, RBZ, does not officially recognise bitcoin as a currency. In July 2016 an RBZ official communicated this to Techzim. However, this does not mean that using bitcoin is illegal. Individuals don’t need regulatory approval to buy and sell bitcoin on the internet or locally. Think of it as a pdf file on the internet. No one needs regulatory approval to pay for a pdf file on the internet.
However, individuals cannot approach the RBZ for recourse if anything goes wrong, e.g. if they deal with an unscrupulous money transfer company of the internet, or a Bitcoin exchange. The risk is the with the individual.