Bidorbuy, Africa’s largest online marketplace, now accepts payments in Bitcoin. The announcement came via a post on the site’s forum on March 1st, and a support post explaining how to activate Bitcoin as a payment method is now up. All Bitcoin transactions carry a transaction fee of 2.28% including VAT, however Bidorbuy explicitly encourages its use:

“We encourage sellers to offer bitcoin as a payment option because there is no risk and you will be reaching a large audience of new online shoppers.”

Large potential audience

Much like eBay or Alibaba, Bidorbuy is a large online platform for connecting buyers to sellers. Merchants use the site to advertise and sell their products, and now have the option of accepting Bitcoin for either complete or partial payment. With over 20 million views per month, coupled with the site’s active encouragement, this has the potential to bring Bitcoin to a sizeable chunk of South Africans.

Potential for merchants to live off of Bitcoin

According to Bidorbuy, of the thousands of sellers who use the site, approximately 20% use it as their primary source of income. This means that, now that the site allows for merchants to accept Bitcoin, thousands of South Africans now have the potential to receive a portion, or all, of their income in cryptocurrency. This new option available to sellers, combined with buyers’ increased ability to spend Bitcoin, could potentially have a significant positive effect on African cryptocurrency adoption.