South African teens skip school to chase risky crypto dreams


A young man shows his cryptocurrency trades on his mobile phone in Tsakane Township, South Africa. — Thomson Reuters Foundation

JOHANNESBURG: John first heard of cryptocurrency three years ago, when the teenager came across slick YouTube videos and Facebook posts of other South Africans claiming to have become wealthy overnight with bitcoin.

Inspired, the then 14-year-old downloaded a trading app, lied about his age in order to set up an account, and began buying and selling crypto with his savings.

Subscribe now and receive FREE sooka plan for 1 month.
T&C applies.

Monthly Plan

RM13.90/month

Annual Plan

RM12.33/month

Billed as RM148.00/year

1 month

Free Trial

For new subscribers only


Cancel anytime. No ads. Auto-renewal. Unlimited access to the web and app. Personalised features. Members rewards.
Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!
   

Next In Tech News

Analysis-From bitcoin to Mexican peso, ‘Trump trades’ are appearing again
A top chess player Is disqualified after a phone is found in a bathroom stall
Instagram moves to face rising tide of sextortion scams
TikTok’s owner already publishes digital books. Now it is moving into print
Watch out for this AI-powered scam targeting Gmail users
Opinion: Nobel prizes give Google the glow it craves
Sam Altman's rebranded Worldcoin ramps up iris-scanning crypto project
Amazon AWS CEO: Quit if you don't want to return to office
Opinion: Dominant technology is harming women, and alternatives are starved for resources
Netflix tops subscriber targets as ad-tier signups grow

Others Also Read