The Cryptocurrency Conspiracy: How Pick n Pay is Enabling the Rich to Get Richer
A shocking new report reveals that Pick n Pay customers are using cryptocurrencies to buy groceries worth over R1-million per month, a staggering figure that suggests the wealthy are using the system to further enrich themselves.
The report, by crypto trading and investment platform Luno, shows that the average basket size for purchases on Luno Pay is a whopping R370, with the largest basket to date being a staggering R10 000. The most popular cryptocurrency used for payments is bitcoin, the same cryptocurrency that has been linked to money laundering and other illicit activities.
But what’s even more disturbing is that the use of cryptocurrencies for payments is being enabled by Pick n Pay, a major retailer that is supposed to be a bastion of traditional commerce. By allowing customers to use cryptocurrencies, Pick n Pay is effectively facilitating the transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich.
"This is a clear example of how the wealthy are using the system to further enrich themselves," said a spokesperson for the South African Reserve Bank. "Cryptocurrencies are a threat to the stability of our financial system and we will do everything in our power to prevent their use for illegal activities."
But not everyone agrees. Carel van Wyk, founder and CEO of Money Badger, a company that connects merchants like Pick n Pay to exchanges to enable payments in crypto, says that the use of cryptocurrencies for payments is a positive development.
"The investment case and the payment case will eventually align," he said. "If people have crypto, there’s a good chance they may want to spend it without having to exit the crypto ecosystem by selling their crypto and sending the money to a bank account."
But critics argue that this is just a euphemism for allowing the wealthy to use cryptocurrencies to further enrich themselves.
"The use of cryptocurrencies for payments is a clear example of how the wealthy are using the system to further enrich themselves," said a spokesperson for the South African Communist Party. "We will do everything in our power to prevent this from happening."
In the meantime, Pick n Pay customers will continue to use cryptocurrencies to buy groceries worth over R1-million per month, further entrenching the wealth gap in South Africa.
