Centbee of South Africa has announced the launch of its bitcoin cash wallet app in beta, as adoption continues to grow in Africa and elsewhere around the world. Some shops in Kenya already accept bitcoin cash for purchases.
Disclaimer: On November 15, 2018, the Bitcoin Cash chain bifurcated into two chains. There is now a network called – Bitcoin Satoshi’s Vision (BSV) – and Centbee the company/wallet/infrastructure provider mentioned in this editorial has chosen to support the BSV chain. Sending Bitcoin Cash (BCH) to a BSV wallet/address or vice versa can lead to financial losses.
Centbee Wallet App Allows Users to Send Bitcoin Cash to Friends via Mobile
South African cryptocurrency firm Centbee has released the beta version of its bitcoin cash wallet, allowing users to send BCH to one another via cellphone. The app, which allows people to receive, hold, and spend BCH, has been in alpha testing for the past few months, with users trying out its performance through test coins. Users have asserted that “its most useful feature is the ability to send bitcoin cash to friends by selecting from their phone’s contacts list,” according to reports.
Centbee co-chief executive officer Angus Brown said he was “extremely confident of the final product” after the company included comments from customers in the beta version. “Cryptocurrency as a form of payment costs a fraction of what users would pay using their bank accounts, especially for cross-border payments. This is the future of money,” he was quoted as saying.
Africa Sees Steady Growth in BCH Adoption
Bitcoin cash offers reliable, fast and inexpensive cryptocurrency transactions when compared to traditional means of sending money. In Africa, the cryptocurrency, which split from bitcoin core just over a year ago, has seen steady growth as a payment means for goods and services. According to the Coinline bitcoin cash directory of merchants, BCH as a payment method is currently established in two countries on the continent, Kenya and South Africa, though it continues to flourish elsewhere in the world.
In South Africa, the latest launch proves the growing acceptance and adoption of cryptocurrency, regardless of regulatory concerns and falling virtual currency prices. South Africa, which recently gained its first multi-currency crypto ATM, has this year consistently ranked highest worldwide in search interest for “bitcoin”, according to data from Google Trends.
Boxlight Electronics, a Kenyan company that distributes a range of electrical gadgets including television sets and home theaters, now accepts payment in bitcoin core and bitcoin cash. Robinson Murage, chief executive officer of Boxlight Electronics, has said previously: “We have received tons of requests from our customers to pay using digital currencies. As a company whose 90% of customers are young, tech savvy and predominantly online we choose to be all inclusive and adapt to the needs of those that prefer this type of currency.”
At Centbee in South Africa, co-chief executive Lorien Gamaroff explained: “Our key focus in designing the app was to make sending bitcoin cash to friends as simple as possible. In just a few taps, users can send bitcoin cash to anyone, anywhere at the lowest possible cost. Bitcoin cash will be adopted globally as the best way to pay, especially in Africa and other developing markets.”