By Yasmine Jacobs 
Feb 11, 2021
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After world-renowned automaker Tesla Inc bought $1.5 billion of Bitcoin (BTC) and announced that it will allow customers to pay for its electric vehicles with BTC in the near future, the popular cryptocurrency reached another all-time high.
It has always been a household name but the popularity of the cryptocurrency is once again starting to gain momentum.
So while I wait to buy a Tesla, I decided to buy R200 in Bitcoin – out of curiosity. Yes, I am aware that I will be waiting a while but I believe in the power of cryptocurrency. This is what I have learnt and where I plan to spend it as I wait to buy that Tesla.
Firstly, what is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is what happens when money, gold and digital landscape come together. According to a report by leading global cryptocurrency company and exchange provider Luno, Bitcoin functions as payment system working similar to bank transfers or credit cards – but better and much safer. It is also very easy to move this money.
At the time of publication, the cost of one Bitcoin in South Africa is R701 547.
How and where did I buy it?
I bought the R200 in BTC on Luno, but South Africans can buy and sell Bitcoin at Bitcoin ATMs, eToro or Bitpanda.
Before you can buy Bitcoin, you are required to deposit money in your wallet. You are then given the options to either add money to your wallet with an instant EFT with PayU or Bank transfer. You then prompted to type in the amount of your deposit.
Before the deposit, you are advised to take note of your unique reference code (found in the app) so your deposit is allocated properly and automatically.
You are given bank details to send the deposit to. It takes up to two business days to process deposits.
Once Luno (or your exchange provider) received the deposit from the bank, your deposit will be in your wallet and you will be free to buy and sell your Bitcoin!
So where would I spend it?
It’s always fascinating to watch the growth of your wallet. So as I wait and watch my wallet, these are stores where I will spend my digital gold.
Bukhara is a Indian cuisine restaurant that is open for sit-down and takeaway orders. However, BTC payment option is availabe for takeaways only.
VPNs such as ExpressVPN, NordVPN and PureVPN also take BTC. We all know that variety on Netflix, am I right?
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