South Africa will be the first host country to hold the inaugural Bitcoin Africa Conference, which will take place on 16 and 17 April in Cape Town.
According to the official Web site, the Bitcoin Africa Conference will bring together merchants, investors, venture capitalists, start-ups and Bitcoin enthusiasts who are all looking to move Bitcoin forward in Africa.
The conference aims to provide an in-depth understanding of the following:
- * What is Bitcoin?
- * The block chain and Bitcoin mining
- * Merchant adoption
- * Bitcoin in Africa
- * The financial, legal and regulatory implications of Bitcoin
- * The future of Bitcoin
"The Bitcoin Africa Conference will address many of the issues surrounding Bitcoin, as well as the potential that Bitcoin offers individuals and businesses alike," the site says.
Among the speakers are Jonathan Smit, MD and founder of PayFast, the first payments processing service in South Africa which allows its merchants to accept Bitcoin. PayFast's recent integration of Bitcoin as a payment method expanded access to the crypto currency to more than 30 000 merchants.
Daniel Schwartzkopff, MD and founder of BetVIP, the world's first licensed Bitcoin sportsbook at BetVIP.com, will also be speaking. In addition, Elizabeth Rossiello, CEO and co-founder of remittance platform BitPesa is also scheduled to speak.
Founder and CEO of Bankymoon Lorien Gamaroff will also address delegates. Gamaroff is credited with developing the world's first blockchain-aware smart metering solution and will be joined by Marcus Swanepoel, CEO and co-founder of global cryptocurrency platform BitX.
Bitcoin was created as an alternative to physical currency in January 2009, by Satoshi Nakamoto, although there are doubts as to whether this is his real name. The virtual currency allows users to send payments within a decentralised, peer-to-peer network without the need for a clearing house. However, unlike banks, Bitcoin third-party accounts are unregulated.
By design, the supply of Bitcoins cannot exceed 21 million and there are more than 13 million units currently in circulation, according to Bitcoincharts, a Web site that tracks activity across exchanges.
However, National Treasury, the South African Reserve Bank, the Financial Services Board, the South African Revenue Service and the Financial Intelligence Centre have warned the currency is risky, susceptible to fraud, unregulated, and users have no comeback if they are burned. The authorities have also said regulations may be issued should the need arise.
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