You can't fault people for turning up their nose at bitcoin when it was worth $0.06 back in 2010. However, anyone who had forgone buying the cryptocurrency in December 2016, when it was around $800, was probably kicking themselves when bitcoin reached a high of almost $19,200 (about R229,000) in December last year.
The price has since retreated to $9,000, as concerns about the coin's safety rattle investors, but there are still people who are interested in getting in on the bitcoin wave, or exploring other cryptocurrencies.
For South African investors looking to buy bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency through traditional service providers that are regulated, this may be a while yet.
None of the registered financial services providers that are regulated by the Financial Services Board and Reserve Bank offer cryptocurrencies on their trading and investment platforms.
The Reserve Bank has said it is looking into regulating cryptocurrencies, but there is no timeline for this.
In the meantime, South African traders and investors can try legitimate platforms such as Luno or ICE3X. For a comparison of the two platforms, visit bitcoinzar.co.za. You can't buy bitcoin directly - you need a bitcoin wallet. You'll use the wallet to convert your currency - for example, rands or dollars - into the cryptocurrency of your choice before trading or investing. There are mobile, web-based, hardware and desktop downloads...