The buzz around cryptocurrency especially Bitcoin today has made many to consider it as a way of making money. The number of crypto traders increases by the day even with the fact that investment in crypto is very risky.
Out of the thousands of crypto assets, Bitcoin is ranked number one and the most popular. The crypto market is now worth trillions of dollars with BTC playing a huge role in this.
As of today, the price of Bitcoin is $42, 772. 83 with a 24-hour trading volume of $18, 859, 217, 284 USD. Crypto exchanges and P2P platforms have several traders/investors on their platforms buying/selling BTC.
It is important to know why Bitcoin is at the top of the list of almost every crypto trader/investor. In this post, we’ll look at the main reasons people want to trade BTC.
What is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency, without a central bank or single administrator. It can be sent from user to user on the p2p bitcoin network without the need for intermediaries.
The cryptocurrency was invented in 2008 by an unknown person or group of people using the name Satoshi Nakamoto. The currency began use in 2009 when its implementation was released as open-source software.
As of today, Bitcoin is the largest and most popular cryptocurrency. Several other coins have been created using its model and are known as altcoins i.e. alternative currency.
As of today, the price of Bitcoin is $42, 772. 83 with a 24-hour trading volume of $18, 859, 217, 284 USD. BTC has a total market cap of $829,582,205,674 USD. It has a circulating supply of 18,952,718 BTC coins and a max. supply of 21,000,000 BTC coins.
Why People Want to Trade Bitcoin
Asides holding of BTC for investment and mining, trading is one of the ways of making profit with Bitcoin. BTC is referred to as the ‘future’ of currency and have seen many people eager to abandon traditional forms of currency in favor of this digital currency.
Listed below are some of the reasons people want to trade i.e. buy or sell Bitcoin.
1. Distrust of the financial system– Bitcoin came to be after the global financial crisis of 2007/8. It was proffered as a solution to the reckless behavior of large financial institutions & the inability of government to regulate them.
The advantages digital currency have over the traditional forms of money makes it one to consider for the people, Money laundering, for example is less common than cash currency.
As there has been a huge sense of distrust of the financial system, Bitcoin, which is decentralized therefore look like what to try out.
People who saw the value of BTC jumped on it to make it one of the fastest growing new technology in history. Bitcoin has enjoyed huge success despite its risky nature and been an asset to trade for profit.
2. Make quick money– Many people want to trade Bitcoin as it is seen as a way of making quick money. The unstable price of crypto assets have made many to study its market in order to make a fortune.
Many who bought Bitcoin in the early days became millionaire overnight. There are a lot of stories of ordinary people and early investors who made their fortune in BTC with relatively little initial investment. Even the early miners are not left out as they earned BTC with ease.
These stories of the early investors have captured people’s imaginations and make them look to BTC to get rich. Although there has been bubble at some points for various reasons, people still key to the possibilities in crypto.
In Africa where there are issues with the financial institution as well as poverty ravaging the land, people trade Bitcoin to gain financial freedom. The continent, for this reason have the largest population of P2P users in the globe.
3. Hedge against inflation- In Nigeria for example, many people pitch their tents with cryptocurrency to hedge against inflation. The high dollar in the exchange market has contributed to the ‘crippling’ economy, Many, therefore take to Bitcoin trading as solution.
Nigerians are listed top among the users of the leading crypto exchanges such as Binance, Coinbase, Kraken etc. Many people buy & sell Bitcoin and several other alternative coins for this reason.
4. Decentralization of crypto– Many crypto assets are decentralized. This means that no company, government or organization has complete control over the currency. Some people really care about the decentralization which helps to send/receive money without the notice of banks & other financial institutions.
Although some governing banks like the Central Bank of Nigeria has banned activities involving crypto in financial institutions, peer-to-peer platforms which are decentralized has been an option. One of the best P2P platforms in Nigeria today is Prestmit.
5. New financial plans- People now focus on Bitcoin and other crypto assets because of its new uses of financial alternatives. These programs are called DeFi (decentralized finance).
Some of the top DeFi programs offer innovative approaches to peer lending. In other decentralized system, users can lend any amount, without putting these funds under control. This is done automatically via smart contracts in blockchain.
Where To Trade Bitcoin In Nigeria
Several Bitcoins trading company have mobile applications created to buy and sell Bitcoins. Top on the list is Prestmit, a digital exchange platform, based in Nigeria & Ghana. This is the place to go if you want to buy and sell Bitcoins in Nigeria.
Prestmit has just launched the new version of its mobile app which makes it the talk of the town right now. The latest version is much faster and easier to give users a better experience. The app can be used for your Bitcoin trading.
USDT, Dogecoin, and Litecoin are also available on this platform at better rates. Prestmit app is available both on Google Play Store and Apple iOS store.
In Conclusion
Investment in crypto assets are no doubt the highest form of risky investments you can dabble into. This is because of the volatility in price of the assets which may not guarantee returns on investment. The knowledge of the coin to invest in is also important in this form of investment.
Bitcoin still remains the number one and largest crypto asset. If you must put your money into it, make sure you trade with what you can afford to lose as return on investment is not guaranteed.
