Bitcoin has boomed and busted and been hyped and attacked, but the so called ‘cryptocurrency’ looks like it’s here to stay. Many South African sites and payment gateways are already equipped to handle bitcoin exchanges, and such august organs as The Economist and Wired say that peer-to-peer money transactions authenticated via blockchain security which exist outside traditional financial interactions are looking like a significant part of the future. So you might well be starting to think about how your own business or startup can start trading in bitcoins.

Which is why you might want to get yourself along to the Sci-Bono Discovery Centre on Wednesday, when Maker Faire Africa kicks off with a special two hour workshop called Cryptocurrency for Makers.

Local luminaries from Cape Town’s BitX – South Africa’s only bitcoin exchange – will be joining Maker Faire Africa co-founder Emeka Okafor to talk about why digital currencies like bitcoin can work for inventors and hardware startups, and also what’s stopping them from being widely adopted.

Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and the maker movement have a lot in common. Both are about doing-it-yourself, alternative ways of trading that exist outside traditional norms. Maker culture is about becoming a creator rather than a consumer: cryptocurrencies like bitcoin are about new ways of transacting that cut out the greedy middle men.

A match made in subversive heaven? Perhaps. Best way to know for sure is to attend the talks. They’re free, and kick off at 11am at Sci-Bono on Miriam Makeba Street. Sign up here.

[Image – Bitcoin Foundation]