If you’ve heard of Bitcoin, you might be a computer geek. The virtual money aspires to become a universal currency that doesn’t depend on governments or banks.

Cutting out the banks results in cheaper transactions, Bitcoin backers say. Online payments pass from person to person without using a bank as the middleman. And unlike electronic payments with ordinary currency, governments can’t halt Bitcoin payments, an idea that appeals to libertarians.

So far, Bitcoin hasn't made its way into the mainstream. It is still a relatively fringe idea viewed skeptically by many economists.

Yet Bitcoin has surprised some of its critics, stabilizing in value after its price peaked and plummeted last year. Bitcoin backers insist that despite its past troubles, the digital currency will prove itself. And they’re now hoping to take their virtual money to a somewhat surprising new market: Africa.

German software developer and Bitcoin exchange consultant Rudiger Koch recently pitched the idea in Nigeria, arguing that Bitcoin has advantages for African countries. Bitcoin has no inflation tax, unlike ordinary cash. It could be spent and shared using cellphones, which are ubiquitous in much of Africa. Cellphone systems that let people transfer money by text message are already used in Kenya.