This era is an era for people born in the computer age; people in their forties and below. The era has witnessed lots of interesting smart technologies and innovations taking over the global space like a storm which is championed by young people who are creative, innovative and smart to come out with unique and mind-blowing technologies which is making life much easier and productive.
Some of these interesting innovations in the financial space that is witnessing a silent revolution which has reoriented people’s mindset on how to bank, own asset, make payments etc. is the introduction of what is known as the blockchain technology and Cryptocurrencies. The technology with Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies has innovated a smart way of making digital payments and even owning them as assets, which in some circles is referred to as ”digital gold” because of their potential of breaking out into appreciable gains and giving the investor profitable portfolio.
It is therefore not surprising to find out that young people all over the globe including Ghana have interest in Cryptocurrency and Bitcoin.
As a person who picked up interest in the Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency innovation, I decided to look into some reasons for which I think Bitcoin/Cryptocurrency will be well embraced by young people not only in the world but dominate the financial space of Ghana sooner than you think. Below are some catalysts:
-
- The technology behind it is interesting
The age of the internet-era of the Gen Z, has revolutionized how things are done, and this is what interest young people who have championed some of these technologies. Young people love innovation, they love to be on top of the game and feel ahead of their peers, and with this they are quick to embracing new concepts and technology especially technology rooting from the west which looks practically useful.
The tech behind Cryptocurrency and Bitcoin is undeniably interesting, that even if you dislike them, you might find yourself secretly admiring their innovation, just like some anti-crypto persons like the US FED chair-Gary Gensler, though he dislikes cryptocurrencies and fights against them, but he agrees the innovation behind them is interesting.
Lots of Ghanaian youth will definitely see Cryptocurrency and Bitcoin as a viable option for investment and payments, since it allows personal banking and smart payment without relying on intermediaries or the central banks or banks in general.
-
- It’s an investment opportunity with low entry point
The low entry point to invest in Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies in general makes it a great option for young people interested in investment to take advantage of. Before Cryptocurrencies came into the scene, investors picked up choices like Stocks, Bonds, Gold or Silver as investment options. Investing in these areas comparatively needs huge capital to invest and therefore is only a privy to some few.
Fortunately investing in Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies allows one to start with as low as $20.00 which gives you the opportunity to own a lot of them as asset ready for growth into profits, more especially some of those coins that are new entries with interesting technologies and have the potential to grow one’s investment portfolio can be purchased at less than a dollar-maybe some few cents.
-
- A safer option in times of inflation and currency depreciation
In September 2022 the Hanke Currency Watchlist listed the cedi as the 5th worst performing currency in Africa. Africanews.com also reported that Ghana’s cedi was the worst performing currency in the world after it lost more than 45 percent of its value to the US dollar in 2022. In such situations people begin to lose confidence in the cedi and Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies might be a safe partner to save one’s money or used for payment in shops and malls and general businesses.
-
- A great opportunity for trading
Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies offer trading opportunities for people interested in trading. In this case people who understand how to use Fibonacci chart or trading chart to study price movements can use it to enter into trading cryptocurrencies against each other for profitable gains, or price movements to pick up the right choice to buy and sell for profit. It might arguably look comparatively profitable than Forex trading if you master the skill.
In fact it will not not be surprising to see lots of the youth venturing into it, especially this era of unemployment deficit.
-
- Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies come with lots of job opportunities
The opportunities that come with bitcoin and cryptocurrencies will keep on growing.
-
- Crypt educationist
With the inception of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, a lot people still find it a daunting task comprehending it concepts and will therefore need education on it. This is a sound opportunity for young people who have been exposed to it to take advantage to educate others about it. This they can do by creating online sign-up courses on platforms like Udemy or Coursera where people can sign up to those courses.
I believe as Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies gather momentum to experience global adoption, there will be the need for government to adopt it as a course of study in schools. But before this happens the government might want to fight against it, but the issue is that, it will be hard to fight against Cryptocurrencies and win, this is because, Cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin is for the people, by the people and with the people because of its decentralized system, and therefore a fight against it will only result in futility. In fact the technology of Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies is the democracy of the financial system. When the government fails in fighting against it, the only way is to allow it to be integrated into the system. It is at this point the government might want to integrate it into the school curriculum as a course of study; when this happens there will be the need for Crypto educationists/teachers.
2. Crypto Journalist/Reporter
Persons with knowledge and interest in cryptocurrencies could become Crypto journalist/reporter for Newspapers or magazines or on television stations, just as we have sports journalists, they will be needed to do daily, weekly review/updates surrounding the technology.
- 3. Blockchain Experts
The blockchain technology that comes with Cryptocurrencies, will be much useful in institutions, companies and businesses because of its robustness in securitizing data, and this will result in the need for experts in this area.
-
- Has entrepreneurial potential
Lots of Ghanaian young entrepreneurs will begin to create and own online Crypto markets or Trading Platforms/Exchanges for cryptocurrencies. These will be platforms people can purchase cryptocurrencies with the local Ghanaian cedis. Currently an example is ecurrency4u.net
-
- Africa is a fertile ground for Crypto adoption
Data from a UN group known as UNCTAD reported that, Kenya is the highest digital asset(cryptocurrencies) holder in Africa about 8.5% and interestingly 5th highest comparatively globally, which means only countries like Ukraine (12.7%) Russia (11.9%) Venezuela (10.3%) and Singapore (9.4%) has crypto holders than Kenya. The data further disclosed that South Africa holds(7.1%) and Nigeria (6.3%)
A report by Cointelegrah.com in December 19 2022 reported that the Nigerian government is soon to pass a bill that will recognize Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies as a way of hooking up with global trends. According to it, the news was reported by a Nigerian based newspaper Masthead Punch on December 18.
Remember Nigeria earlier on launched the e-naira probably as a way to sideline Cryptocurrencies in the country but it seems not to have been successful hence the direction to embrace its acceptance. Worth noting is that, anything that happens in Nigeria has a dominos effect on the continent. If Nigeria eventually make Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies as a legal tender the possibility of other African counties following suit will be high.
-
- NFTs and GameFi
With the emergence of NFTs(Non-Fungible Tokens)and GameFi (Game Finance)which allows people the opportunity to earn tokens or digital assets(cryptocurrencies) by playing video games that are developed using the blockchain technology, lot of idle and unemployed youth will take advantage to explore those games for the fun of it, and for the monetary rewards as well. an example is Axie Infinity games, Gala games etc. Many of those games are free to play. Lots of young people who loves video gaming will take advantage of this as a lucrative way to make money whiles they enjoy the games.
Also Artistic creators like digital artists will take advantage of the NFT tokenization to sell their creative works to make some money.
