Just a few weeks ago, the Zimbabwean cryptocurrency exchange Golix gained its first national competitor when Styx24 opened its doors online. Almost simultaneously Golix introduced a Bitcoin ATM to its customers, accessible inside their offices in central Harare.
Also read: Bitcoin Adoption Continues to Thrive Within Africa’s Borders
Need US Dollar Bills In Zimbabwe? Got BTC?
Few countries have seen harder times economically, fiscally, and monetarily than Zimbabwe. No wonder Bitcoin proponents have an easy time explaining Bitcoin’s advantages to Zimbabweans. After the government famously printed Z$100 trillion dollar bills, the general population have no trouble understanding the wonders of a fixed cap coin supply.
“Since we got the machine, lots of people have come to check it out, to touch it,” Golix representative Tawanda Kembo told Bitcoin.com. “At least 10-20 people walk in every day, since we launched it last Friday”.
Neither Golix, nor Styx24 have government licenses or permits to run these businesses, as the lawmakers still have not gotten around to regulating the space. “We actually don’t know what the government thinks,” Kembo said and added:
People can use it at their own risk as there is no licensing for any crypto business yet, even though we have met with regulators several times.
The teller machine is placed one floor up, in a mall in the center of the capital, welcoming customers between the hours of 8 am and 6 pm on weekdays. It takes your photograph, fingerprint, scans your passport/ID, and verifies your phone number.
There is an acute liquidity crisis In Zimbabwe, and so getting physical US dollars is both cumbersome and expensive (and illegal, the cash has to be bought on the black market). Also, the premium to convert
