Home
News
- 1 Malawi demonstrates increasing interest in Bitcoin among Africans.
- 2 The Central African Republic treats BTC as a legal tender.
Bitcoin (BTC) is criticized for its heavy energy consumption globally. However, it comes out as a boon to Malawi, a country in East Africa. Recently reported by British news and opinion website UnHerd, located a couple of hours from the nation’s commerce and finance hub Blantyre is a small stack of computers mining Bitcoin inside a pump shed in Bondo.
People Trust Bitcoin Here
The cryptocurrency mined from the 32 computers is funding the parts of Africa that have plenty of energy but “too poor or remote to merit connection to grids.” Crypto mining takes up this excess energy generated by plants there. UnHerd reports the idea was implemented by a Jack Dorsey-backed Kenyan firm Gridless.
Four similar initiatives have been scattered around Kenya and Zambia by the firm with more of them still in the planning phase. Gridless is trying to break the myth about Bitcoin being a risky asset attributing to extreme volatility in the crypto market. Instead, it supports the ones supporting the claim that BTC will lead to more inclusive financial systems.
Power plants in Bondo were developed by a local group called Mount Mulanje Conservation Trust. While their efforts to save nature were initially funded by financial aid and development agencies, the cryptocurrency covers this cost now.
Malawi is among the poorest nations across the globe, UnHerd highlights. According to former British politician Rory Stewart, Britain provided aid of £ 4.5 billion ($5.7 Billion) to this country corroded by corruption and bad governance, yet it ended up “if anything, poorer than it was when we started”.
Furthermore, this country demonstrates increasing interest in Bitcoin among Africans due to instability in their own currency. Malawian Kwacha devalued 44 percent against the United States Dollar (USD). Several other African nations have faced similar conditions leading to catastrophic inflation and low currency conversion rates.
A Kenyan entrepreneur turned to the biggest cryptocurrency in the market according to UnHerd. Due to constantly eroding currency value, she invested in Bitcoin. However, it must be noted that BTC too is not immune to price fluctuations. Where it has traded near $70K at some point, its value declined to below $20K last year. Currently, it was trading at a market price of $43,760 at the time of writing.
Cryptocurrencies have stayed a thorn in the eye of several regulators worldwide. However, these assets also attracted admiration from different corners of the world. The Central African Republic’s parliament has given Bitcoin a stature of legal tender in the nation. Central American country El Salvador treats it the same.
Though the initiative by Gridless appears fascinating, the operations are smaller in context to other Bitcoin mining initiatives from miners like Riot Platforms, Marathon Digital, Cipher Mining, and more. Therefore, it cannot impact the natural resources in the region. However, it can be the other way around if any significant expansion happens.
Anurag is working as a fundamental writer for The Coin Republic since 2021. He likes to exercise his curious muscles and research deep into a topic. Though he covers various aspects of the crypto industry, he is quite passionate about the Web3, NFTs, Gaming, and Metaverse, and envisions them as the future of the (digital) economy. A reader & writer at heart, he calls himself an “average guitar player” and a fun footballer.
