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Bitcoin is giving better returns than the Nigerian stock market
Bitcoin has attracted hedge and quant traders who make money on short-term price swings.
With the COVID-19 pandemic still raging on and upsetting markets, Bitcoin has outperformed the Nigerian stock market and even most global equities; only performing worse than gold. Investors attribute Bitcoin’s performance to bets/bids that have been made to hedge against inflation.
In 2020, Bitcoin has only posted a loss of around 5%, compared to respective drops of 17.5% and 18% for the Nigerian and MSCI All-Country World Index. With a market capitalization of over $126 billion as at April 22, 2020, it is much bigger and more liquid than the Nigerian stock market (market capitalization less than $31 billion dollars —N11.793 trillion est. April 21, 2020).
Like stocks and other riskier assets, Bitcoin climbed up in the wake of massive stimulus packages launched by fiscal authorities and central banks around the world last month to ease the economic damage caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.
In addition, with a supply pegged at 21 million, its rarity gives it an intrinsic value and protects it from global central banks’ moves or policies that encourage inflation.
READ MORE: Bitcoin price under pressure, stays under $7000
However, in 2020, bitcoin performed poorly against popular safe havens like gold. Just last month alone, Bitcoin slumped more than 35%, showing that gold has proven far more resilient than Bitcoin
A pile of bitcoins
Bitcoin which is notorious for high price swings, has found its use as a means of digital payment and scared off institutional investors such as pension funds. It has however attracted hedge and quant traders, who make money on short-term price swings.
READ ALSO: Nigeria’s Inflation rate jumps to 12.26% in March as recession looms
As its volatility soared, major cryptocurrency exchanges saw huge movements in volume last month. Many speculators sold off the cryptocurrency (like other assets) to raise money.
“I’m long gold, I’m long bitcoin – we are seeing a monetization of debt like we have never seen in our lifetimes,” Novogratz said in a Monday interview with Bloomberg TV. “To me in the long run, that has to make hard assets look better.”
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P2P crypto marketplace, Bitzlato (BZ) partners with Lemonade Finance to ease money transfers across Africa
The partnership will enable users on the BZ platform to buy and sell bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies on the marketplace at zero cost.
Bitzlato (BZ), the latest P2P Crypto Exchange to enter the African market, has added Lemonade.Finance, a borderless payment platform for Africa, as a payment method to its platform.
Lemonade Finance provides 100% digital payment experience for Africans to seamlessly participate in the global economy from anywhere in the world without any hassle or regardless of where they are from.
The partnership will enable users on the BZ platform to buy and sell bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies on the marketplace at zero cost.
Users in Nigeria will now be able to send Nigerian Naira (NGN) to MPESA at 0% transaction fee.
Speaking about this partnership, Ridwan Olarere, CEO, Lemonade Finance, said:
“We are excited to partner with such an innovative company like Bitzlato to connect more Africans through payment. Many Africans living on the continent face many difficulties when making payments as remittance companies charge high fees and are time-consuming. We are now providing our users with a cost-effective way of sending money to Ghana, Kenya, Uk and Europe.”
Commenting on the opportunities this provides to crypto traders on the BZ platform, Mike Lunov, CEO, BZ, said:
“This partnership will provide a much-needed gateway that enables the markets we serve to seamlessly interact with each other in a borderless and open environment. We seek to break the barriers that presently exist for cross border transfers and enable our users to generate value through the opportunities that accrue from cryptocurrencies trading. The innovation exhibited by the Lemonade platform, and the brilliance of its team assures users of top-notch, secure and reliable transfers going forward.”
According to BZ, during the first month, BZ will refund commissions in manual mode while using Lemonade Finance, but this will be automated at the end of this period.
Following this partnership, BZ is now looking to partner with merchants in the crypto space especially in Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa that have a steady flow of Nigerian Naira (NGN) to increase liquidity on the platform.
Take advantage of the new Lemonade Finance payment method on BZ, which offers zero transactional fees for money transfers from Nigeria into Kenya. Sign up on BZ and start trading crypto easily today.
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