How is Bitcoin Adoption Progressing in South Africa? 🇿🇦 South Africa is a key player in the global Bitcoin ecosystem, with strong momentum in adoption driven by innovation, education, and community growth. The country is witnessing a surge in merchant adoption, and this shift is transforming Bitcoin from a speculative asset into a widely used functional currency for everyday commerce.​ Several thriving grassroots projects and communities contribute to this vibrant ecosystem across education, business, and social impact sectors: 🔷Bitcoin Witsand Community-driven circular Bitcoin economy in Witsand, Western Cape, promoting Bitcoin acceptance among local businesses as a hedge against economic instability. 🔷Bitcoin Ubuntu @Bitcoin Ubuntu ⚡ Volunteer organization in Swellendam focused on Bitcoin-only education, merchant onboarding, and community workshops to foster financial inclusion in rural South Africa. 🔷Bitcoin Ekasi @BitcoinEkasi Non-profit initiative in Mossel Bay townships, inspired by Bitcoin Beach, paying staff in Bitcoin and onboarding vendors to create a local circular economy for empowerment. 🔷Bitcoin Loxion @BitcoinLoxion Circular economy project in Khayelitsha township building sustainable Bitcoin communities through education, meetups, and real-world use cases like farming and events. 🔷Bitcoin Plett @Bitcoin Plett Local adoption group in Plettenberg Bay supporting Bitcoin payments at businesses, hosting events, and mapping accepting merchants to strengthen the regional economy. 🔷Bitcoin Johannesburg Organizes bi-monthly meetups in Johannesburg for Bitcoin enthusiasts to network, share knowledge, and discuss adoption strategies in urban South Africa. 🔷SimplB Provides advanced Bitcoin security training and multi-signature wallet setups to help individuals and businesses secure their digital assets effectively. 🔷Tri Bitcoin Promotes Bitcoin awareness and adoption through triathlon events in South Africa, combining fitness with educational sessions on Bitcoin. 🔷SowetoBtc @SowetoBtc Delivers financial education and merchant onboarding in Soweto, empowering youth and businesses with Bitcoin literacy. 🔷Bitcoin El Zera Youth empowerment program teaching Bitcoin literacy and financial sovereignty to underprivileged South African teens through interactive workshops and resources. 🔷Money Badger Enables Bitcoin Lightning payments across South African stores like Pick n Pay via QR codes, settling in ZAR for seamless merchant adoption. 🔷BitcoinOnly Bitcoin services provider offering payment solutions, hardware/software sales, and consulting to facilitate secure Bitcoin integration for users and businesses. 🔷Bitcoin For Business Guides South African businesses on Bitcoin adoption, to leverage Bitcoin for growth and financial resilience. 🔷Cardware Wallet An air-gapped hardware wallet for secure offline storage of Bitcoin and EVM assets, featuring transparent design and QR-based signing. 🔷Orange SaaS solutions for remittance businesses, integrating Bitcoin for low-cost cross-border transfers and financial services in emerging markets like South Africa. 🔷Bitshack Fosters a Bitcoin community in South Africa, through education and local economy building to encourage Bitcoin adoption. 🔷Bitcoin Zar Bitcoin community offering Bitcoin education, meetups, and resources to welcome newcomers and promote widespread use in South Africa. 🔷Proof of Bitcoin Connects South African businesses for Bitcoin commerce, facilitating networking, partnerships, and adoption to create a robust crypto-friendly ecosystem. 🔷WeDoBitcoin Maps Bitcoin-accepting small businesses across South Africa via an interactive directory, helping users spend sats and encouraging merchant sign-ups. 🔷Bit-Fitness Combines Bitcoin education with health and social activities, hosting fitness events to promote wellness alongside Bitcoin awareness in communities. 🔷Simply Sow Raises Bitcoin awareness, promoting adoption and growing a circular economy through local initiatives, education, and sustainable spending practices. 🔷Bitcoin In The Wild Drives conservation with Bitcoin, protecting wildlife, spreading education, and empowering communities sustainably. 🔷Bitcoin Karoo Bitcoin Circular Economy in the heart of the Karoo, onboarding local merchants to Lightning-only payments, Bitcoin education initiatives, spreading adoption. 🔷Bitcoin Sisonke A Bitcoin circular economy focused on educating individuals and onboarding merchants, providing Bitcoin use cases and its economic benefits. These initiatives illustrate South Africa’s rich and multifaceted Bitcoin ecosystem accelerating financial inclusion, fostering innovation, and promoting sovereignty. 👇Dive deeper into this growing African Bitcoin economy and discover more initiatives here:

African Bitcoiners

African Bitcoin Ecosystem - African Bitcoiners

Explore the Bitcoin ecosystem in Africa with our infographic. Discover key players, trends, and growth drivers shaping the African Bitcoin landscap...

📢 We Need YOU! Help Us Make MIAB 2026 the Best Yet!  The Most Impactful African Bitcoiners (MIAB) of 2025 is officially over, and we are incredibly proud of the innovators, educators, builders and communities highlighted. However this initiative is for the community, by the community and we want to ensure we accurately reflect the true impact and diversity of the African Bitcoin ecosystem in future, and we need your critical insights. We want to know your honest, unfiltered feedback on every aspect of the list, from the nomination process to the final presentation. 👇 Share your feedback (it takes less than 2 minutes!)

African Bitcoiners

African Bitcoiners

Fun Fact Thursday! Did you know? 👀 It is estimated that over 3 million Bitcoin are permanently lost, sitting in wallets with forgotten keys or discarded hard drives. That is nearly 15% of total supply, making every remaining sat more valuable.

🎙️ Join us for a landmark X Space celebrating incredible women driving Bitcoin adoption across the continent! We’re gathering pioneering women from around Africa to share their journeys, insights, and visions for how Bitcoin is shaping Africa’s economic landscape. Amazing Speakers like: 1. Janet Maingi 2. Sabina Gitau (@Sabina) 3. Tebo Makgakga 4. Mary Imasuen 🗓️ Date: Thursday, Dec 18, 2025 ⏱️ Time: 4 PM UTC [5 PM WAT | 6 PM CAT | 7 PM EAT] This is a conversation you need to hear. 👇 Set a Reminder!!! https://x.com/i/spaces/1eaKbjVajldKX?s=20

📢ATTENTION AFRICAN BUILDERS! The African Bitcoin Infographic data will be updated in Q1 2026! This update will feature more African Bitcoin projects, communities, & circular economies. 👇FILL THE GREAT BITCOINER SURVEY NOW to add your project!

African Bitcoiners

The Great African Bitcoin Survey - African Bitcoiners

This survey aims to comprehensively understand and document the landscape of Bitcoin organizations across Africa.

🎥It’s Watch Party Wednesday Join us at 2 PM UTC on Discord to learn by watching Bitcoin videos, sharing insights, and connect with the community. 🧡 👇 Join the community!

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Join the African Bitcoiners Community Discord Server!

Check out the African Bitcoiners Community community on Discord - hang out with 463 other members and enjoy free voice and text chat.

💡Spotlight on Beyond Adversity BTC Podcast 📍Location: Kenya 🇰🇪 About:  A Bitcoin-powered podcast uplifting real stories of strength, hope, and financial freedom from underserved communities. This initiative aims to drive grassroots Bitcoin adoption and circular economy development through storytelling, distribution, merch, pitching, and hands-on education. Some Key Objectives: 🔹Amplify resilient voices from underserved communities via BTC-funded storytelling, helping listeners connect emotionally and economically to the ecosystem. 🔹Reward local artists, contributors, and designers with SATs distributions. 🔹Support small entrepreneurs through patronage & Bitcoin payments. 🔹Empower youth startups via ThriveTanks and micro-grants. 🔹Demonstrate Bitcoin's real-world impact through merchant onboarding and training. You can connect with Beyond Adversity BTC Podcast: Support:

Geyser | Bitcoin Crowdfunding Platform

A Bitcoin crowdfunding platform where creators raise funds for causes, sell products, manage campaigns, and engage with their community.

👇Explore more inspiring Bitcoin initiatives across Africa:

African Bitcoiners

African Bitcoin Ecosystem - African Bitcoiners

Explore the Bitcoin ecosystem in Africa with our infographic. Discover key players, trends, and growth drivers shaping the African Bitcoin landscap...

African Bitcoin Community Builders!🌍 Bitcoin adoption in Africa grows from the ground up through people, passion, and community. This is how we build a truly decentralized, African-led Bitcoin movement. 👇Learn more!

African Bitcoiners

African Bitcoiners Community Builders - African Bitcoiners

Join us in revolutionizing Bitcoin adoption across Africa as we empower communities through meetups and events -all driven by our dedicated Communi...

🏅HONORING THE PARTNERS BEHIND THE MOST IMPACTFUL AFRICAN BITCOINERS 2025 Curating the Most Impactful African Bitcoiners of 2025 was a journey of discovery from every corner of this continent. But telling these stories required sponsors & partners who truly understand the mission. We are profoundly grateful to our sponsors for standing with us to honor these builders: 🔶Trezor Academy: Thank you for recognizing true impact. Your support to us for The Most Impactful African Bitcoiners of 2025 is a commitment to ensuring that the sovereignty these Bitcoiners are building can be secured and has also contributed to securing the legacy of African innovation. 🔶Plan B Network (@Plan ₿ Network): Thank you for valuing the power of knowledge. Your support to us for The Most Impactful African Bitcoiners of 2025 has helped to amplify the voices of educators who are using your resources to enlighten great minds across Africa. 🔶To all our partners: Thank you for seeing the potential in these amazing heroes and partnering with us on this continent-wide initiative. Your belief in the African Bitcoin ecosystem turns recognition into fuel for the next wave of adoption. We appreciate you more than words can say.🌍🧡 🔶And finally, to our super super wonderful African Bitcoin community, we say a huge thank you for your contributions, nominations and consistent support in building the African Bitcoin ecosystem. Together we are empowering the next generation with the right tools for financial liberation. Thank you all.🧡

📢Check out the weekly stats for the Lightning Network in Africa: Active Nodes: 60 [ 0%] Total Capacity: ⚡️1, 273, 186, 684 [+0.002% 🚀 ] Total Channels: 231 [ +0.01% 🚀 ] Proudly brought to you by @Africa Free Routing Open a channel with them today !!!

Africa Free Routing

Home - Africa Free Routing

Accept Bitcoin payments with ease and expand your Bitcoin reach with Africa Free Routing reliable, low-cost Lightning Network connectivity.

💥Celebrating Nigerian Abubakar Nur Khalil as our #1 Most Impactful African Bitcoiner of 2025!🇳🇬 Our #1 crowns the visionary @Abubakar Nur Khalil, Nigerian trailblazer illuminating Bitcoin's open-source frontier for the Global South. As CEO of @btrustteam and @rcrsvcapital, he's a force decentralizing development, arming African devs with elite training, grants, and unbreakable conviction to code the future, while spreading adoption through multilingual resources, youth mentorship, and cross-continent collaborations that onboard thousands to self-sovereign finance. In 2025, Abubakar's impact was profound: appointed full-time CEO of Btrust after interim leadership to accelerate open-source empowerment, including Bitcoin Core reviews for v30.0 backports and rc3 while refreshing the board for sustainable growth; launching Btrust Builders tracks like "Mastering Bitcoin" and "Rust for Bitcoiners" to skill up developers for protocol advancements and core contributions; distributing Q3 Developer Grants to six innovators including four Africans enhancing Bitcoin Core and Lightning tools with his own long-term grant fueling full-time work on fee estimation, Cluster Mempool, and package relay; securing starter funding for Bitcoin Dev Kit (BDK) to author and review dozens of pull requests boosting wallet interoperability and efficiency, and inspiring young stackers through Digital Assets contributions on Africa's Bitcoin evolution. We deeply appreciate everything Abubakar and his unstoppable team are doing to Bitcoinize Africa. Africa celebrates and extends unreserved appreciation. Thank you! 👇Learn more about Abubakar Nur Khalil our 1st Most Impactful African Bitcoiner 2025!

African Bitcoiners

The Most Impactful African Bitcoiners of 2025

Uncover the stories of the top 21 African Bitcoin trailblazers revolutionizing Bitcoin and financial liberation in Africa. Their passion for Bitcoi...

💥Celebrating South African Carel Van Wyk as our #2 Most Impactful African Bitcoiner of 2025!🇿🇦 Our #2 is transformative Carel Van Wyk, CEO and co-founder of MoneyBadger, pioneering secure Bitcoin payments for merchants continent-wide, leveraging his Luno and SnapScan foundations to fuel everyday adoption and circular economies. In 2025, Carel's impact was profound: expanding MoneyBadger's network covering half of South Africa's Bitcoin payments infrastructure and integrating 1,600+ retail points for QR-based Lightning acceptance; developing a merchant API for seamless ZAR settlements, processing 19,536 transactions worth R7.7M in H1, a 46% surge while partnering with Peach Payments for e-commerce scalability; launching the Universal Translator via Scan to Pay integration, enabling Bitcoin spending at 650K+ stores and shifting users from hoarding to utility amid rising adoption, advocating Bitcoin's open-source resilience in high-inflation contexts positioning Africa as an innovation hub. We deeply appreciate everything Carel and his incredible team are doing to promote Bitcoin adoption within and across Africa. We appreciate your undeniable efforts and you are greatly recognized by the continent. 👇Learn more about Carel Van Wyk our 2nd Most Impactful African Bitcoiner 2025!

African Bitcoiners

The Most Impactful African Bitcoiners of 2025

Uncover the stories of the top 21 African Bitcoin trailblazers revolutionizing Bitcoin and financial liberation in Africa. Their passion for Bitcoi...

💥Celebrating South African Hermann Vivier as our #3 Most Impactful African Bitcoiner of 2025! 🇿🇦 Our #3 is pioneering Hermann Vivier, founder of Bitcoin Ekasi, creating thriving township circular economies that empower communities with practical Bitcoin adoption and financial resilience. In 2025, Hermann's impact was profound: onboarding 30+ merchants in Mossel Bay townships for Lightning transactions in sats on essentials like groceries and utilities, boosting local spending and fiat independence, generating 20 tech jobs for youth and embedding Bitcoin skills in daily life, circulating sats locally for economic stability; inspiring replications in Zambia and Kenya, fostering youth empowerment and global visibility, and driving Mossel Bay's evolution from pilot to scalable operation, positioning South Africa as a hub for inclusive Bitcoin growth. We deeply appreciate everything Hermann and his incredible team are doing to promote Bitcoin adoption across Africa. We value and celebrate you greatly. 👇Learn more about Hermann Vivier our 3rd Most Impactful African Bitcoiner 2025!

African Bitcoiners

The Most Impactful African Bitcoiners of 2025

Uncover the stories of the top 21 African Bitcoin trailblazers revolutionizing Bitcoin and financial liberation in Africa. Their passion for Bitcoi...

🌍Celebrating Btrust Builders as the African Bitcoin Project of the Year for 2025! We are honored to recognize @Btrust Builders as the African Bitcoin Project of the Year. They have fundamentally shifted the narrative from "adoption" to "creation," giving African engineers the keys to the repo. In 2025, their impact was structural and profound. As The Talent Engine, they forged a continent-wide network of open-source contributors, producing several heavyweights. For Funding the Future, ₿trust disbursed over $1 million in grants this year alone, fueling the hackathons, stipends, and fellowships that keep the open-source ecosystem alive. Through Global Leadership, and building on the strategic acquisition of Qala, they proved that Africa isn't catching up, but leading the development of Bitcoin and Lightning at the protocol level. We deeply appreciate Btrust Builders for ensuring that the revolution is being coded by the people it serves. You are the backbone.

💥Celebrating Bitcoin Ekasi as the African Bitcoin Circular Economy of the Year, 2025! 🇿🇦 We are profoundly honored to celebrate @BitcoinEkasi founded by Hermann Vivier and led by Luthando Ndabambi as the African Bitcoin Circular Economy of the Year. Based in a township (ekasi) in Mossel Bay, they are proving that Bitcoin is the ultimate tool for financial sovereignty and community upliftment, directly bypassing the barriers of the inflationary Rand. In 2025, their model reached maturity, transforming a local community. This transformation included establishing a 100% Bitcoin Payroll for all 21+ staff and coaches of The Surfer Kids NPO, ensuring their income is sound money. They achieved significant Merchant Adoption by onboarding over 32 local shops, vendors, and spaza shops to accept instant, low-fee payments via the Lightning Network, creating a robust, self-sustaining economy. For Community Integration, they deepened their partnership with T.M. Nanda Primary School, demonstrating Bitcoin’s power to maximize impact: donated funds spent locally in Bitcoin achieved three times the work compared to traditional fiat donations. Furthermore, the Education Hub at the Bitcoin Ekasi Center remains a vital walk-in spot for financial literacy, ensuring self-custody and technical know-how are accessible to everyone. Bitcoin Ekasi is the definitive blueprint for how to truly Bitcoinize Africa from the ground up by building trust, driving utility, and prioritizing the people who need it most. We salute their relentless service and incredible vision! https://file.nostrmedia.com/f/0780b32ad406598bc4f3b79c07a90063ac6fb618e692151628eb2acff934b515/55d22df792d57379cc0bcd431c99311388ac1193435cdf9b390dbc30770f28f6.png34trffrfrrr 44444

💡 Celebrating Gridless Compute as the African Bitcoin Miner of the Year, 2025!  We are thrilled to honor Gridless Compute as the African Bitcoin Miner of the Year. Led by co-founder and CEO Erik Hersman, Gridless is dismantling the myth that Bitcoin consumes energy; they are proving that Bitcoin is an engine for energy abundance and infrastructure development in Africa. Gridless pioneers a symbiotic model where Bitcoin mining acts as the essential "Buyer of Last Resort" for renewable energy providers. This model provides guaranteed, predictable revenue, enabling new mini-grids to secure financing and infrastructure from day one. This directly subsidizes the cost of power, making electricity more affordable for local residents. In 2025, their expansion demonstrated the power of this blueprint: they achieved significant Geographic Expansion, scaling operations beyond Kenya into Malawi and Zambia, thereby driving infrastructure development across new regions. This led to Direct Electrification, enabling hundreds of families and businesses to gain reliable electricity access for the first time, spurring small-scale economic activity. Furthermore, Gridless showed Technical Leadership by actively sharing their open-source blueprint and leading the Green Africa Mining Alliance (GAMA) to encourage replication of this model across the continent. Finally, they focused on Decentralized Innovation, developing ways for small-scale solar operators (like local farmers) to monetize their excess energy directly through Bitcoin mining. Gridless proves that Bitcoin mining, when strategically deployed, is the most powerful tool for solving Africa’s fundamental challenge: reliable, affordable power. We salute your vision!

💥Celebrating Nigerian Bernard Parah @Bernard Parah as our #4 Most Impactful African Bitcoiner of 2025!🇳🇬 We are proud to honor Bernard Parah, the CEO and Co-Founder of @npub1c82x...j8re. He is the architect bridging Africa to the global financial system, combining relentless infrastructure building with massive human capital development. In 2025, Bernard's impact was monumental as he scaled the Strike partnership, unlocking instant fiat-to-mobile money transfers for millions in Ghana and Kenya, while expanding Bitnob’s API to settle in about 8 African currencies. Beyond rails, he invested heavily in the future, training several developers across the continent and hosting the landmark Kampala, Kenya, and Nigeria Bootcamp to equip engineers with core Bitcoin skills alongside other remarkable events to contribute to the growth of the Bitcoin ecosystem. We deeply appreciate everything Bernard and his team are doing to build both the rails and the builders of Africa's future. Special shoutout to Damilola Robert for being more than instrumental to these remarkable strides from the Bitnob team. Your value is undeniable, a true African Bitcoin revolutionary. We celebrate and honor you! 👇Learn more about Bernard Parah our 4th Most Impactful African Bitcoiner 2025!

African Bitcoiners

The Most Impactful African Bitcoiners of 2025

Uncover the stories of the top 21 African Bitcoin trailblazers revolutionizing Bitcoin and financial liberation in Africa. Their passion for Bitcoi...

💥Celebrating Kenyan Janet Maingi as our #5 Most Impactful African Bitcoiner of 2025! 🇰🇪 We are honored to celebrate Janet Maingi, Co-Founder and COO of Gridless Compute. She is the operational force proving that Bitcoin is not just a digital asset, but a physical catalyst for renewable energy and rural development. In 2025, Janet's impact was transformative as she expanded Gridless’s footprint beyond Kenya into Malawi and Zambia, utilizing stranded energy to power off-grid mining operations. Her leadership in constructing data centers has directly contributed to local electrification efforts, turning wasted renewable capacity into light and revenue for remote communities. Recognized by the BBC and @Bitcoin Magazine, she has firmly positioned African innovation at the center of the global sustainable mining narrative. She is also a Director on the Board of Satoshi Sister Circle, contributing to Bitcoin education for women across Africa through Career Accelerator Mentorship Programs, and high-impact events, significantly advancing professional opportunities and Bitcoin adoption for women across Africa and the Global South. We deeply appreciate everything Janet and her team are doing to green the grid and empower and drive Bitcoin adoption across the continent. We truly value your mission and appreciate your efforts! 👇Learn more about Janet Maingi our 5th Most Impactful African Bitcoiner 2025!

African Bitcoiners

The Most Impactful African Bitcoiners of 2025

Uncover the stories of the top 21 African Bitcoin trailblazers revolutionizing Bitcoin and financial liberation in Africa. Their passion for Bitcoi...

🎥Join us for Watch Party Wednesday today at 2PM UTC on Discord! We will dive into engaging Bitcoin videos, learn new insights, and connect with fellow Bitcoiners. 👇Don't miss out on this weekly chance to grow and vibe with the community!

Discord

Join the African Bitcoiners Community Discord Server!

Check out the African Bitcoiners Community community on Discord - hang out with 463 other members and enjoy free voice and text chat.

💥What if understanding money felt like playing a game? What if you could solve puzzles, complete missions, and unlock the future of finance one level at a time? You can stop wondering, because we built it for YOU! Introducing the African Bitcoiners Interactive Course! This is a new, gamified journey designed to take you on your Bitcoin journey just with more fun while you learn. 👇Start playing now. Your first "Realm" is waiting for you!

African Bitcoiners

Asha and the Future of Money - African Bitcoiners

Learn Bitcoin with African Bitcoiners - A gamified Bitcoin education course for Africa!