In 2017, I lost the job of a social worker while five months pregnant because the organization had run out of funds. Expecting a child comes with high costs that make everything very difficult. I tried looking for another job, but I was not successful because no one was willing to hire a pregnant woman. This was devastating since I had to begin spending my savings with no returns at all.
One day, I shared with one of my friends about my unemployment and financial status. By that, I was about to give birth and my savings would not take me through two years with a child and other expenses. She felt sorry for me and said, "Maybe I can introduce you to bitcoin." This was my first time to hear about bitcoin. What is Bitcoin? I asked. She said it's an online business that you do from anywhere, even when you're at home. I had heard of people who work online before, for example, writers, typewriters through up work, the Guru and Freelancer but I had never heard about bitcoin. She did not have a lot of time to explain to me, but rather said, it's a product or money that you can buy and sell.
What quickly run into my mind were Alliance groups, these are Chinese groups that invite anyone on social media for training. You market their products online and earn commission on each product that you sell. So many people had tried to invite me, but I always said no. I later asked her if Bitcoin was a Chinese product, but she said no, and asked me to do research.
I started reading blogs, watching YouTube videos talking about cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. Most of the blogs and YouTube videos defined Bitcoin as a scam which made me more confused and scared. I called my friend and told her what I had found out and she told me, that was internet propaganda. My friend later helped me to get started by opening an account but I felt I was making a life mistake that I am going to regret. In 2013 my friends lost money to a group of scammers who claimed were businessmen aiming at developing poor people to achieve their financial goals. They asked people to invest and invite friends and family and the investors would earn 10% of their investments monthly for two years. To become a member you have to register through their website online and make bank payments. Lots of Kenyans saw this as the only means to wealth accumulations and invested big sums of money. After a few months, the website was shut down and offices were no more. The victims reported to the authorities and they were told to wait as investigations were ongoing, but none of them recovered their money to this day.
Trading bitcoin!
I got the audacity to buy bitcoin in December 2017 when the prices were skyrocketing. I made the first purchase when the bitcoin price was $8,100 and sold it $19,783. I was happy to make 500 dollars in a month with very little investment which was equal to my social work salary where I had to travel a lot and had no time for myself at all. I would buy, hold and later sell-off.
In 2018, bitcoin prices started falling and I lost a lot of money. The crypto market was losing with very high percentages from $13,800 January 2018 to $6,200 Feb 2018. During this period, I lost almost all my savings in holding bitcoin and I felt like quitting with lots of regrets. I used to see the sell advertisement but never understood the logic behind it. One day after huge losses, I decided to change my strategy from buying and holding to making advertisements for myself (both buy and sell). I started buying from miners, advertised on social media with confidence and no shame, started a blog on Cryptocurrency and this tactic increased more profits.
In 2019, I was able to predict correctly and I started getting daily buyers and sellers, but the value of bitcoin depreciated the more from $6,200 to $2000. The internet started to spread rumors that Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrency are going to crash. I used to follow a bitcoin account of Instagram and lots of people were predicting that Cryptocurrency will be no more. One of the traders commented and said that people should start looking for other ways of earning money because Bitcoin will be No more. Although I was scared, I was not willing to go back, I trusted my heart and bought as many as I could. Thank God, it did not crush and this gave me the courage to continue believing in Cryptocurrency.
How I benefited from Cryptocurrency.
Exposure: I unbanked myself by starting to trade bitcoin and learned that it was not good to keep money in the bank because it does not yield any profits no matter the period. Bitcoin has enabled me to develop a business mind, right from the payment method like mobile banking, international payments (PayPal, Netteller) to building relations from zero. Relationships at bitcoin start with honesty, speed, and diligence.
Livelihood: Kenya is one of the countries that are suffering from unemployment and very high tax rates from the government. The high taxations make life very difficult for new business owners. For two years now, I have not got my social work job yet bitcoin has played a fundamental role in improving my finances.
Challenges
Scammers: My biggest fear of starting a bitcoin business was getting scammed and it came to reality. A Vendor opened trade with me and after releasing the bitcoin, he reversed funds. This feeling is worse than losing money when prices depreciate. It's so heartbreaking, however, I reported him to support and his account was suspended to prevent him from scamming more traders. If you thought there are no rules and regulations in Cryptocurrency, you are wrong, bad guys get caught.
I feel so lucky to know about Cryptocurrency and I would like to grow big with this new technology. It sounds strange to some people in my community, but they will understand with time.
