From Mossel Bay to Witsand and Plettenberg Bay to Knysna, Bitcoin has become popular among shop owners and travelers alike for a multitude of reasons.“We’re seeing the early signs of a parallel, permissionless economy emerging across an entire region,” James Caw, founder of SimplB — a local crypto asset provider — told Cointelegraph, “where small businesses benefit from faster, lower-cost digital payments and where people have more options to earn, send and receive sound money securely.”For tourists, the benefits are immediate: no currency exchange hassles, no international card fees, and the ability to pay instantly and securely.
Jones outlines its growth by outlining that: Although there have been many individual businesses over the years since 2009 that started and stopped accepting Bitcoin for the Garden Route, the adoption really started kicking off in 2021.“With the Lightning Network starting to reach maturity around that time, the first Spaza Shop in Mossel Bay, Bitcoin Ekasi, started accepting Bitcoin in August 2021, and the first restaurant in Witsand in December of the same year.”Education has been central to the process.
The town’s energy is palpable, and visitors are encouraged to engage with merchants, share information about Lightning payments, and help grow the ecosystem.“Right now Plettenberg Bay is by far the most interesting circular economy in Africa and possibly the world,” said Jones.“It currently boasts having the most businesses accepting Bitcoin of any town in Africa and has achieved this in less than three months.”Bitcoin preferred signs can be found along the Garden Route.
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