Bitcoin is known as the first cryptocurrency to be created and has become the most popular of them all. Since creation, Bitcoin has a massive impact on different aspects of human living; for instance, it has revolutionized the way we pay for goods and services, and the way and manner through which we store value.
It has been able to challenge the traditional way banking and monetary systems operate, and caused governments all over the world to accept it, or at least make regulations concerning it. Furthermore, the technology upon which Bitcoin was created – i.e. the Blockchain technology – has been applied to all other facets of life including music and entertainment, cyber security, Internet of Things (IoT), smart contracts, digital identity and general financial services, with massive benefits and transformations to the way things are done in those sectors.
Bitcoin has however functioned more than a social transformation tool. It has also been a means through which persons have transformed their economic and financial situations. This happened mainly as a result of the massive boost in the price of bitcoin that has happened in just the last few years. It is common knowledge that when Bitcoin was first released in 2009, it was priced at just $0.0008; at this price you could not get any stock to purchase. However, it has since from then moved to reach a high of about $20,000 in late 2017.
Currently, it is hovering around at around $10,000 thereabouts.
If we are to quantify that in percentage, anybody who invested in Bitcoin at its launch in 2009 will have bagged returns of up to 8,900,000% of the invested capital by December 2019. We can state with all certainty that there is no other asset that has returned that in such a short time – just a decade.
Over the past 12 months alone, Bitcoin has generated returns of at least 49%. This return is only matched by a few stocks, a small number of other assets.
These massive returns over the years have created several millionaires; and there have been a few billionaires as well. We have also not considered the countless numbers of people who have bagged tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars just out of being involved in the Bitcoin revolution. These numbers include a number of Africans and Ghanians as well. More importantly, we have to note that this trend is continuing and there will be more that will be created.
We have talked about the transformation that Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies have brought about globally, and especially as regards creating millionaires and billionaires as well as countless other persons who have become rich in thousands of dollars, just out of being involved in Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. However, we must state that these persons did not become rich through the same means.
There are several methods of participating in and reaping from the phenomenon that is called Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. They include investing, trading and Bitcoin mining.
This is the traditional and most common way to make money from the Bitcoin market. With this, you purchase the underlying asset, that is Bitcoin, and hold for a considerable length of time. You can hold for days, weeks, months or even years. What you want to happen is see the price of Bitcoin increase from when you bought it.
So if you purchase Bitcoin at say $6,000 per one in particular month, you may want to wait a few more months before you sell it. This time around, you should be waiting for the price to increase to say $10,000 before selling your holdings.
“Hodl” is a term used in the Bitcoin community whenever they are holding their coin with the belief their coin will be profitable one day. The slang word earned came from the acronym for “Hold On for Dear Life”.
How do you go about investing in Bitcoin?
Start with creating a wallet to keep your bitcoin safe. There are many places that allow you to do so. There are several wallets out there that are recommendable; good examples include Paxful, Coinbase, Luno and Binance. This is the easiest way if you are planning on buying and holding bitcoin. However, do take precautions to ensure that the website you’re using is a safe and reliable one.
Can Bitcoin Price Continue to Rise?
This is probably the most common question that almost all newbies to Bitcoin investing seek answers to.
The Bitcoin price has undergone some meteoric rise since its launch, but especially in the past 3 years. For instance, between 2017 and now, we have seen a rise of between $900 to the current $10,000 (of which at a point the price almost reached $20,000). Can this type of run be sustained?
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You can approach trading through two main methods: Purchasing the actual coin, and trading Bitcoin Contract-for-Difference (CFD). With the actual purchase, you go about purchasing coins (majorly alternative coins) that you believe will experience very quick movements; and when their prices increase, you sell. This price increase can happen in as short as just a few hours. You can also use a bitcoin binary options robot Ghana,
On the other, with Bitcoin CFD, you are not purchasing any coin at all. What you are trading is the difference in the prices, hence the name “Contracts-for-Difference.” In short, you are profiting or making losses from the difference that happens in price between the time that you entered the trade and the time you exit.
With CFDs, you can profit from both directions of market movements. If you enter a BUY trade, and the market goes up, you profit. If it goes down you lose. On the other hand, if you are on a SELL trade and the prices go down, you record a profit. Otherwise, the trade will end up be a losing one. One factor that makes Bitcoin quite attractive for trading is its volatility. The prices of Bitcoin and other crypto coins can move massively in just a matter of seconds. These very quick market moves can deliver quick profits or losses to traders depending on which side your trade is on.
A Bitcoin broker is a firm or an individual that acts as an intermediary in the markets to facilitate buying and selling of Bitcoin. There is usually this debate between the term, “Bitcoin broker” and “Bitcoin exchange.” In many cases they are tagged to mean the same thing; but some argue that they are different.
Essentially, a broker allows you to buy or sell Bitcoins on their platform. This purchase or sale of Bitcoin can be done with the broker directly. That is if you need Bitcoin you buy straight from the broker; similarly, if you want to dispose of it, you sell to the Broker.
On the other hand, the exchange simply creates a platform for buyers of Bitcoin and the sellers to meet each other and make Bitcoin trades. Essentially, the Bitcoin exchange does not sell or buy to you; they simply serve as a platform to connect you to potential trade partners.
There are advantages and disadvantages that apply to both systems. Nevertheless, most recent Bitcoin companies operate both models, that is they operate as both a broker and as an exchange. Thus, they can connect you to potential buyers or sellers and they can also serve as the buyers or sellers. It is up to you to choose which model you want to work with based on the advantages and disadvantages.
For instance, in the pure Bitcoin exchange model, there are seeming bigger chances of fraud occuring, as your trade partners can create fake transactions to fool you. This may also happen in the case of the Bitcoin broker model, especially if you fall into the hands of wrong broker; however the chances are very slim.
On the other hand, the Bitcoin exchange allows you to bargain and negotiate prices. This way, you can get the best possible deal for you.
However in the Bitcoin exchange model, you will have fixed prices irrespective of whether it is a good deal for you or not.
Furthermore with the Bitcoin broker model, you may be restricted as to the time at which you can conduct transactions. These are companies that have open and close office hours; as such, you are limited to trading within those times only. However with the Bitcoin Exchange, you are trading with fellow traders who can be available at any time of the day.
As such, if you need to buy or sell Bitcoin on the weekends you can be assured that you likely get a counterparty.
Some notable cryptocurrency trading brokers that accept Ghanaians include IQ Option Ghana, Olymp Trade Ghana, Deriv.com Ghana, Binary.com Ghana, amongst others.
