Kenya is one of the developing African countries with the problem of inflation. The causes of inflation in Kenya can be attributed to certain factors like oil prices, domestic production, and policy variables touching on the exchange rate, fiscal and monetary policies. This has brought about increased rapid depreciation in the exchange rate and a dire need for an alternative source of financial lifeline and what better alternative than cryptocurrency.
What are Cryptocurrencies?
You’ve probably heard the term “cryptocurrency” being thrown around now and again, but what does it mean? Cryptocurrency is a type of currency that exists online on a blockchain server that stores data regarding transactions in blocks without personal identifiers.
Cryptocurrency is known to be very attractive because it is decentralized. This means that it is void of any central control, there is no central authority that controls cryptocurrency whether banks or other financial institutions.
The decentralization factor is what makes crypto a solid alternative for financial uses. You don’t have to worry about banks or institutions as middlemen which helps cut the excess fees and makes transactions more direct, faster and smoother. Transactions with cryptocurrency are also safe and secure and keep the personal details of users anonymous. Cryptocurrencies are also a good investment vehicle to start with which we will be talking more about in this article.
One of the major ways people save their money is by saving in the banks and it’s pretty understandable. Keeping your money in the bank seems like the most convenient, safest and easiest way to save your spare cash. You don’t even have to lift a finger, all you need to do is just leave the money in there. What’s the worst that can happen, right?
Well, there are a number of things that could happen; you could stash your money in the bank and earn peanuts as interest rates; your money could be the subject of all the annoying bank fees you could think of, or; inflation could just finish the job for you such that by the time you want to withdraw your shillings, they can’t quite purchase what they used to because inflation has set in. Thankfully, there’s a better way to earn more and save your money than keeping it in the bank and that is through cryptocurrency.
Reaping the benefits with crypto
- You deserve more than the banks: Banks pay you less every day. Interest rates are constantly on the decline and most of the time your hard-earned cash becomes the unsuspecting victim of inflation. Next thing you know, your money keeps disappearing and that’s going to hurt. You have a better option putting that money in cryptocurrency. This isn’t to say that crypto doesn’t come without its own flaws (one being volatility) but the crypto market always bounces back. Take this, for example, a year ago, bitcoin was sitting at $10,351 before reaching a low of $4,074 a month later. Since then, Bitcoin has seen a 400% return which is way better compared to banks. It also helps to know a lot about the market and also what your risk level is.
You’ll earn much more investing your money in crypto than letting it collect dust in the banks.
- Easy access to a wide range of investment options: There are over 4,000 cryptocurrencies in the world with bitcoin and ethereum leading. That’s over 4,000 different investment options for you to choose from and you can choose as many as you would like to invest in and can start from as low as a dollar. That’s pretty great. You also get direct control over your investments, if you choose you can buy more or sell some at any point in time that you feel like it.
- Crypto as a hedge: Cryptocurrency can hedge unstable governments that close bank accounts, police states that want to seize private wealth, broken payment rails due to corrupted systems or outside cyber-attack threats, paranoid leaders that want to disenfranchise opponents, export-protecting devaluations that trigger more inflation. Cryptocurrencies are a great alternative in today’s world. It is profitable and with fewer complexities compared to saving in the bank.
Thanks to the decentralized nature of crypto, it has made it quite easy for anyone anywhere to easily access and, in Kenya, cryptocurrency exchange Yellow Card is making the purchase and sale of bitcoin as easy and fast as possible. So, with a shilling, you can buy bitcoin directly into your wallet at the best rate and use your bitcoin as you see fit. For instance, you could keep it as an investment or send bitcoin as money to friends and family in and out of Kenya.
In addition, Yellow Card has made the app easily accessible on mobile by downloading the app from your app store as well as on any other device by simply visiting web.yellowcard.io on any browser and instantly trading cryptocurrency.
With the fast rate of crypto adoption around the world, it is only a matter of time before it reaches everyone and many in Kenya are already using and benefitting from the “future of money”.