How to make money from Cryptocurrency – Bitcoin and more

Inquisitive Kenyans out there are asking the following questions:

How to buy bitcoins in Kenya? How to invest in bitcoins? How do you mine bitcoins? How do you mine crypto currency? 

What is  Cryptocurrency? 

Cryptocurrency refers to a digital currency that uses cryptography to protect the anonymity of senders and receivers. Common cryptocurrencies include Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple and Monero, among others.[note]https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/cryptocurrency.asp[/note]

Cryptocurrencies allow you to transact with anyone in  the world without going through the banking system. The most famous cryptocurrency is Bitcoin and was launched in 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto.

All transactions are recorded in a growing list of of digital ledger / record called blocks. These blocks are linked using cryptography to form blockchains. Each node (computer connected to the network) gets a copy of the blockchain making the transactions public, and verifiable by all the machines connected on the network.

“Bitcoin mining is the process by which transactions are verified and added to the public ledger, known as the block chain, and also the means through which new bitcoin are released. Anyone with access to the internet and suitable hardware can participate in mining” – Investopedia

The block time is the average time it takes for the network to generate one extra block in the blockchain. A shorter block time means faster transactions. The block time for Ethereum is set to between 14 and 15 seconds, while for bitcoin it is 10 minutes.

How do you make money from cryptocurrency (Bitcoins, Ethereum et cetera)

1. You can buy the bitcoins and wait for the value to appreciate*. Given that the bitcoins are limited in supply – only 21 million it highly likely that the value will keep increasing.You can buy bitcoins online in Kenya.
2. Mining of bitcoins. This is for the tech savvy as you need huge servers and access to high speed internet connection. If you are not tech savvy you can outsource the services to Bitcoin Cloud mining companies and   earn Bitcoins without managing hardware,software, electricity, bandwidth etc. Be cautious here as some of dishonest people collect money and disappear.
3. Earn bitcoins as a mode of payments for the services/ products you are offering.
4. Set up Bitcoin ATMs. These machines allow users to exchange, or send cryptocurrency.
5. Sale bitcoin wallets.

*The prices of cryptocurrency vary based on demand and supply and therefore the rate of exchange from say USD to Bitcoins (aka BCT) can fluctuate widely. The value of Bitcoins has increase from less than 1 USD in 2010 to USD  June 2018.

* Always store your bitcoins in a Bitcoin wallet as the exchanges can be hacked or compromised.