A cryptocurrency (or “crypto”) is a form of payment that can circulate without the need for a central monetary authority such as a government or bank. Instead, cryptocurrencies are created using cryptographic techniques that enable people to buy, sell or trade them securely.
How To Sell Crypto In South Africa
The rapid rise of cryptocurrency is changing the global financial landscape forever, creating both risk and opportunity for new and existing players. Whether cryptocurrency is “here to stay” is no longer a debate – it clearly is! Large financial services firms are seeing increasing demand from their customers for access to bitcoin and other cryptocurrency-related products, and the capital markets are also confronting a broad set of crypto-related developments.
OVEX is a leading prime brokerage service and cryptocurrency exchange that offers a range of opportunities to take advantage of this burgeoning segment. OVEX has a large variety of digital assets available for purchase on its exchange including but not limited to: bitcoin, ethereum, solana, USDC, USDT, and TUSD. The OVEX Request for Quote feature allows you to instantly buy and sell any of these currencies at incredibly affordable rates.
OVEX Request for Quote
OVEX is South Africa’s largest institutional cryptocurrency platform, and it brings deep liquidity to South African markets through its Request for Quote service.
It allows you to buy and sell cryptocurrency easily and instantly by catering to all traders and offering the best available rates — including 0% trading fees.
Click here to start buying and selling on OVEX with zero fees.
The Request for Quote service automatically produces buy and sell order quotes for any currency on the OVEX platform, and you can then choose to accept the quote and buy/sell your cryptocurrency.
OVEX OTC Desk
The OVEX Over-the-Counter (OTC) Desk is ideal for high volume clients who wish to conduct large crypto orders and do not want to place them on an open order book thereby causing price disruption and slippage.
Trading on OVEX’s personalised OTC Desk means you can easily execute trades privately and off the OVEX exchange order books. OVEX offers deeper liquidity and a private, more personalized service to institutions and high-net-worth individuals needing to conduct large crypto orders.
Whether you are trading blocks of R500 000 or R50 000 000, OVEX will provide you with unmatched execution and settlement services that are not only discrete but are also secure and hyper-competitive.
Some key features of the Desk:
- For wealth managers and brokers: Manage all clients seamlessly at the single click of a button (handle 100 clients with the same ease as one client).
- Zero trading fees.
- OVEX’s extended credit line: This allows you to lock in trades before settlement. This is a game changer and a popular feature amongst OVEX OTC traders.
- Access the Desk 24/7 and receive unmatched execution with zero slippage.
Thousands South Africans are using OVEX to buy and sell cryptocurrencies, while its OTC desk trades volumes of around R4-billion per month.
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Ways to buy Bitcoin in South Africa
Buy Bitcoin using a Bitcoin exchange
Do your research and select a Bitcoin exchange that is regarded as reliable, secure, and trustworthy. Bitcoin exchanges such as Luno allow you to deposit fiat funds from a bank account into a Bitcoin wallet to transact in the digital currency. Bitcoin exchanges are regarded as the safest and most secure way to buy and sell Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum.
Buy Bitcoin with a credit or debit card
It’s possible now to buy Bitcoin using a credit or debit card. You still need to go through a reputable Bitcoin exchange such as Luno where you add your card details in the system and transfer money electronically once the card details have been verified. Credit card fees apply which makes it a slightly more expensive way to buy Bitcoin.
Use a BTM/VTM (Bitcoin ATM)
There are not many BTMs in South Africa currently but they are available in some of the major cities. This is a vending machine that works in much the same way as an ATM. You need to have a Bitcoin wallet loaded on your Smartphone which generates a QR code that the BTM reads. You can use a BTM to deposit funds to purchase Bitcoin but you can’t use a BTM to withdraw the money earned from selling Bitcoin.
Get paid in Bitcoin
Bitcoin is growing in popularity as a payment method for goods sold and services rendered. Money owed is paid into a Bitcoin wallet which you obtain through a reputable exchange such as Luno. The most popular payment gateway provider for Bitcoin transactions is PayFast. This facility allows people to pay in Bitcoin which is then converted to Rands.
Join a Bitcoin trading community site
There are a few reputable cryptocurrency platforms that provide you with the opportunity to connect with people who are buying and selling Bitcoin privately. You can trade through a reputable website or meet in person and pay cash for the purchase. Be careful of falling victim to a Bitcoin scam.
Mine Bitcoin
Many South Africans have got into the complex process of mining Bitcoin. This is largely done through Bitcoin syndicates as massive investment in the processing technology is required for Bitcoin mining. Bitcoin mining involves securing the network and verifying transactions and successful miners are paid in Bitcoin. It’s not hugely profitable but if you’re technologically inclined, you’ll find the process fascinating.
Bitcoin exchanges in South Africa
The two oldest exchanges in South Africa that have stood the test of time and can be trusted with Bitcoin transactions are Luno and ice3X (IceCube). Both exchanges accept deposits from your bank account or card payments. Once the funds are cleared, you can immediately buy or sell Bitcoin through the exchange.
Bitcoin is slowly being accepted by vendors as a method of payment but it’s a long way off from being used for daily transactions. Any customer who is registered with PayFast (payfast.co.za) can accept Bitcoin through the PayFast gateway for a fee and South African Rands are deposited into a bank account.
There are less than 10 Bitcoin ATMs in South Africa but the number is growing. These cash machines have been dubbed BTMS (Bitcoin Teller Machine) or VTMS (Virtual Teller Machine). At this stage, you can use a BTM to deposit funds in your digital account but you can use it to withdraw funds. BTM fees are high, at around 10% per transaction.
Luno regularly updates its list of merchants in South Africa that accept Bitcoin as a method of payment. You can see from the diverse spread of merchants that Bitcoin is becoming more widely accepted in South Africa for regular transactions.
Takealot.com was an early adopter of Bitcoin and allows its customers to use the digital currency to buy products on the massive online shopping site. This is done through PayFast which is the instant EFT payment method that Takealot uses. Other large online shopping sites have followed in its lead.