Should Africa Turn To Bitcoin?
Can Cryptocurrencies Give Africans Relief?
If there’s one word doing all the rounds these days, it’s ‘cryptocurrency’. Every time you open your news reel there’s an article about Bitcoin, or Ethereum, or Litecoin or Binance Coin. It’s enough to make anyone’s head spin. In addition to the various cryptocurrencies, there’s also been disconcerting accounts of these digital cash mediums of exchange. Ponzi schemes and multi-level marketing schemes have shot up and have done these currencies a serious disservice. Quite recently, one such company that came under fire was Mirror Trading International (MTI). This South African company had to close up shop after clients were incapable of withdrawing funds. CEO of MTI, Johan Steynberg, has not been seen since early December 2020 and is believed to be somewhere in Brazil. Liquidators will now have to track down thousands of investors with nothing but emails to go by and investors who were able to draw funds will likely by law have to pay them back. It’s a cautionary tale to all cryptocurrency investors – choose regulated institutions if you are going to invest in Bitcoin or any of the other digital currencies.
Which Crypto should you invest in?
The popularity and proliferation of cryptocurrencies have seen quite a few come into fruition. Aside from Bitcoin, you could invest in:
- Ethereum
- Litecoin
- Cardano
- Polkadot
- Stellar
- Chainlink
- Binance Coin
Leading the pack is none other than Bitcoin, essentially due to its age. At the time of going to publication, Bitcoin was trading at $44 000. Many analysts have attributed Bitcoin’s incredible 20% spike to South African-born Billionaire, Elon Musk. Not only has has Musk bolstered Bitcoin’s value trough a series of pro Bitcoin tweets, but the visionary’s electric vehicle company, Tesla, has also bought $1.5 billion of bitcoin. Now while it might to be safe to assume that if Mr. Musk just breathes on something of commercial value, stocks in that product are sure to sky-rocket, but throw in tweets and a huge investment, and you’ve got “gold” on your hands. One could be forgiven for thinking that the examples of trading with GBP as currency as set by all those Wall Street tycoons is one of the safer investment bets to make, but cryptocurrencies have dislodged any such notions. The legitimacy of digital currencies like Bitcoin have been validated through the media as more and more news outlets publish articles on it daily, and as more online vendors have started to accept it as payment for both deposits and withdrawals.
Can Bitcoin be your last side hustle?
The reality of the matter is that Bitcoin is serving its users in various ways. Some are profiting from it by way of investment, and this includes speculation – a trait of CFD trading. Others are taking advantage of Bitcoin’s ability to circumvent trade hurdles. For instance, in Nigeria, some entrepreneurs are using Bitcoin to trade with their Chinese partners when payments exceed $10 000. Monetary exchanges of such amounts would usually be held up in the traditional banking system, but with a Bitcoin wallet, the cash moves fast while the those using the currency also encounter lower fees. Bitcoin’s ability to bypass international banking route processes has made it a very attractive options to anyone looking to conduct their affairs more privately and in a speedier manner. Just a few short years ago (back in 2018) Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey declared that in 10 years Bitcoin would be the world’s only currency. His words might very well ring true sooner than we think.
You still have to be producing Teslas for sale before buying bitcoins. In Malawi you may need to be the governor of the reserve bank of malawi and have a K27 million salary to buy dogecoin!