Cryptocurrency
3 alternatives to bitcoins
Published
4 years agoon

Though the world may be going gaga about bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, in Nigeria, its price is beyond the reach of the average investor. One bitcoin is about N1.1 million. 0.1 bitcoin is a N100,000 still quite expensive. There however several lesser known but equally valuable coins.
They are known as alternative coins or altcoins. Though one still has to purchase bitcoin to buy, the lower prices mean one can buy a higher quantity, as well as benefit from a significant upside.
Ether
While used inter-changeably, there is a slight difference between ethereum and ether. Ethereum is the network, while ether is the currency on which is used to carry out transactions on the network. Ether is the second most valuable cryptocurrency after bitcoin.
Ethereum’s strength lies in its having a faster transaction time than bitcoin, as well as being the most common platform used by other cryptocurrencies. Most Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) are paid for with either bitcoin or ethereum, thus leaving it at the risk of wide swings in price. Ether currently goes for about $250 a coin.
Litecoin
Litecoin is the 3rd biggest cryptocurrency in terms of trade volumes. Litecoin is also faster and more efficient than bitcoin. For investors who prefer to hold than trade, litecoin is also fairly stable in terms of price volatility. Litecoin founder Charles Lee resigned from Coinbase this year to face the project fully. Litecoin currently trades at $45.
NEO
Formerly known as antshares, Neo is China’s answer to ethereum. Neo has a faster transaction compared to ethereum with 1000 transactions mined per second and plans to make it even faster. China plays a key role in cryptocurrency markets due to its large population size and the presence of several Chinese exchanges. Movements in the Chinese markets, have a deep effect on the larger crypto market. The Chinese also tend to prefer their versions of popular services. Popular ride sharing app Uber, had to merge with the Chinese version Didi when it couldn’t cope with the competition. Taobao. China’s version of Amazon is bigger and faster. Neo currently trades at $18.
Onome Ohwovoriole has a degree in Economics and Statistics from the University of Benin and prior to joining Nairametrics in December 2016 as Lead Analyst had stints in Publishing, Automobile Services, Entertainment and Leadership Training.He covers companies in the Nigerian corporate space, especially those listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).He also has a keen interest in new frontiers like Cryptocurrencies and Fintech. In his spare time, he loves to read books on finance, fiction as well as keep up with happenings in the world of international diplomacy.You can contact him via [email protected]


Cryptocurrency
Why Bitcoin could be worth $1,000,000
Leader of Europe’s biggest crypto exchange revealed the price of the flagship crypto could hit the $1,000,000 million mark.

Published
3 hours agoon
March 4, 2021
Jesse Powell, the leader of Kraken, Europe’s biggest crypto exchange said Bitcoin could be priceless and the world will soon give up pricing the world’s most popular crypto asset in U.S dollar terms.
Speaking to Bloomberg, he revealed the price of the flagship crypto could hit the $1,000,000 million mark within a decade.
"Bitcoin is going to infinity, the moon, Mars and eventually it'll be the world's currency," says Kraken CEO Jesse Powell to @emilychangtv https://t.co/bSwBDeYbgM pic.twitter.com/Slpl82l3Lf
— Bloomberg TV (@BloombergTV) March 4, 2021
He said, “The people that are believers in Bitcoin see… it’s going to replace all of the world’s currency so that basically means whatever the market cap of the dollar is, the euro — all of that combined is what Bitcoin could be worth,” Powell continued.
“I think in the near term, people see it surpassing gold as a store of value, so I think $1 million as a price target within the next ten years is pretty reasonable.”
The top European crypto leader was obviously bullish on the flagship crypto-asset;
“Of course, you know, we can only speculate, but when we measure it in terms of dollars, you have to think it’s going to infinity,” he told Bloomberg TV about future price trajectory.
“This national currency’s only fifty years old, it’s already showing extreme signs of weakness, and pretty soon I think people are going to start measuring the price of things in Bitcoin,” he noted.
In addition, a crypto strategist William Clemente said, “Looking at Reserve Risk, this Bitcoin Bullish Run is still in its Early-Mid stages.”
Looking at Reserve Risk, this #Bitcoin Bull Run is still in its Early-Mid stages pic.twitter.com/uzazOta5Sl
— William Clemente III (@WClementeIII) March 3, 2021
Recall some months back, Raoul Pal, the founding partner and CEO of Global Macro Investor who has more than 50% of his capital in the flagship crypto, predicted a wave of institutional funds that could likely push Bitcoin to $1,000,000 in the next 5 years.
In an interview with Stansberry Research, as seen on Youtube, the former hedge fund manager revealed the global economy was moving from the “hope phase” to the “insolvency phase” as global investors realize that the economy is going to take much longer recovering from COVID-19 pandemic than anticipated.
He said, “There’s no stimulus around, and we’ve got more problems to come to Europe, the US, and elsewhere, and businesses don’t have enough cash flow. They’re closing in droves and that’s what I call the ‘Insolvency Phase’…
“Yeah, I think [$1 million is] about right. Just from what I know from all of the institutions and all of the people I speak to, there is an enormous wall of money coming into this. It’s an enormous wall of money. Just the pipes aren’t there to allow people to do it yet, and that’s coming, but it’s on everybody’s radar screen and there’s a lot of smart people working on it.”
Cryptocurrency
Why buying Bitcoin in Nigeria is not cheap
It appears to have become much difficult for Africa’s most important crypto market to get Bitcoin at a fair value.

Published
9 hours agoon
March 4, 2021
It’s no longer news that the recent CBN reminder restricting Nigerian financial institutions from Bitcoin and other Crypto assets have started to spur negative effect in the crypto industry when considering the cost of buying the world’s most popular cryptocurrency at Africa’s largest crypto market.
A recent study by Nairametrics revealed the flagship crypto asset, Bitcoin traded as high as 46% premium on some P2P exchanges and untraditional channels when compared to the use of Nigerian bank debit cards before the Crypto ban took effect, meaning the price of a bitcoin on such platforms was much expensive than its average price on other Crypto exchanges of around $49,000 at the time.
Crypto experts are of the bias that although the Central Bank’s recent directive does not criminalize ownership of Bitcoin, the circular will however make it difficult for them to process debit, credit card, and bank transfer transactions.
READ: Bitcoin joins the trillion-dollar club with Apple, Saudi Aramco and Google
This is already increasing the complexity of a significant number of Nigerians that often use their local currencies in buying crypto assets. Many Crypto exchanges interviewed by Nairametrics spoke on the challenges many of its Nigerian users face buying Bitcoin at a fair value on the account that Nigerian leading financial payment providers such as Paystack, Flutterwave have arbitrarily cut ties with Crypto exchanges.
Adding more woes to young Nigerians adamant about buying the flagship crypto asset is the prevailing dollar scarcity in Africa’s leading economy which had often led many to buy the dollar at the black market rate of as high as N500, knowing fully well that all Crypto assets value are denominated in U.S dollar.
Adding credence to this, Rume Ophi a.k.a. Cryptopreacher, and Nigerian Crypto Educationist said;
“Nigeria’s bitcoin price isn’t consistent because it is pegged to the dollar (Usdt), which is a bit different from the parallel market, the one we call the black market or abokifx.”
READ: Nigeria’s cryptocurrency ban: A legal analysis
He added weight to the exchange rate disparity on some Crypto exchanges and other channels Nigerians have been left with
“At the time of writing, Paxful an online peer 2 peer platform pegged 1 USDT to 475. This means you need 475 naira to get 0.0000004sat (the smallest unit of bitcoin is called sat). Whereas a black market vendor is also known as OTC will sell for 480/$,” Ophi said.
The effect of the CBN crypto ban is already breeding bad actors that are currently taking advantage of the high thirst for Bitcoin as Luno a leading African-based Crypto exchange in an email sent to Nairametrics sheds more light on the cost bitcoin buyers in Nigeria must bear;
“Pushing people underground also makes it easier for scammers to exploit Nigerians, and we are already seeing Bitcoin trade at huge premiums in the country as a result of the ban.
“Other companies have made the choice to find workarounds that are less visible for regulators – for example, Peer-2-Peer (P2P) trading. Our view is that P2P trading would go against the spirit of the CBN’s directive.
“We believe that the focus should instead be on demonstrating to the CBN that exchanges such as Luno have the necessary controls in place to address the concerns it has in relation to cryptocurrencies.”
READ: Most powerful financial leader takes side with CBN, says Bitcoin is untrustworthy
What you should know
- Recall, the Central Bank of Nigeria had recently notified Deposit Money Banks, Non-Financial Institutions, other financial institutions against doing business in Crypto and other digital assets.
- In a circular dated 5th February 2021 and distributed to regulated financial firms, the apex bank of Africa’s largest economy warned and reminded local financial institutions against having any transactions in crypto or facilitating payments for crypto exchanges.
- Nigerian Apex bank further warned Nigerian financial stakeholders that any breach of this directive will attract serious regulatory sanctions.
READ: Why Crypto black market is thriving in Nigeria
Luno also spoke on the effect the CBN crypto ban will have on Nigerians in the long term, stating,
“Any attempt to restrict access to cryptocurrency does not protect Nigerians. It holds them back and leaves them vulnerable. It prevents honest Nigerians from taking advantage of all that cryptocurrency has to offer them.”
Bottom line: The rate of purchasing the most widely used Crypto asset in Nigeria is currently trading at a premium amid the Central Bank’s directive, suggesting it is getting much harder for Africa’s most important crypto market in getting Bitcoin at a fair value.
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