http://www.coindesk.com/africas-largest-bank-trials-bitcoin-integration-system/I always presumed it would happen in Africa first and it seems its going to go that way. Hopefully they push ahead with their plans and go live. This will put pressure on all banks in that economy to start accepting to as the national currency would already be put on a parity with bitcoin.
This is so significant because...if bitcoins as fiat in south africa then it gives western countries two options:
1. Stop trading with South african banks
2. Continue trading with South African banks and allow bitcoin to be converted to dollar and pound sterling indirectly.
i.e Bitcon to Rand...Rand to USDOLLAR OR GBP
Bitcoin offers real hope to citizens of third world countries whose currencies devalue daily. It enables them to do work in the knowledge that they can somewhere be fairly remunerated elsewhere.
People are so short sighted that they only look at the current circumstances to assess whether bitcoin is viable. In war torn countries where the national currency plumments, or in a potential regional war...bitcoin CAN be that piece of stability when everything crumbles around.
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