2026-01-30 –, Blink
This talk shares the key lessons I’ve learned from actively spending Bitcoin across South Africa after launching BitcoinFriendlySA, a platform that helps people spend and accept Bitcoin with confidence. By documenting merchants, writing Bitcoin spending guides, meeting industry players like MoneyBadger, and using Bitcoin myself, I shifted from seeing it mainly as digital gold to understanding it also as real money for everyday spending and saving.
After briefly covering how Bitcoin payments work in South Africa, the talk explores what actually happens at the till: why Bitcoin spending is still early, how invisible QR-code payments slow adoption, and why many Bitcoiners hesitate to spend due to volatility concerns, HODL culture, and tax friction. The talk concludes with practical ideas for advancing adoption.
I launched BitcoinFriendlySA in May 2025 to map where South Africans can spend Bitcoin and to build a content platform that helps people learn how to spend and accept Bitcoin with confidence.
In the process of doing that work — researching, documenting the merchants, writing guides on everything from how businesses can accept Bitcoin to how customers can spend it, meeting industry players like MoneyBadger, spending Bitcoin myself using tools like Luno Pay and Lightning wallets like Blink, connecting with many like-minded individuals and speaking to many people on the ground — I went through a major shift: from seeing Bitcoin mainly as digital gold to understanding it as both digital gold and real money people can use for everyday spending and saving.
This talk briefly covers the Bitcoin payment landscape in SA and how to pay with BTC before sharing the key lessons I've learned along the way, including:
- Bitcoin is an SoV and MoV, and that means spending and saving can co-exist
- At the till, Bitcoin is still early, but every successful payment is a moment for education
- Invisible Bitcoin payments don't drive adoption: In SA, Bitcoin payments are often invisible because people can pay by scanning a QR code without mentioning "Bitcoin".
- People are reluctant to spend Bitcoin, and we discuss why, covering topics like HODL culture, short-term volatility concerns, and tax implications.
It concludes with ideas for driving adoption forward. This is not a technical talk but a grounded account of my experience: what Bitcoin adoption really looks like after building BitcoinFriendlySA, writing content, speaking to people, and simply learning by doing.
Founder of BitcoinFriendlySA