NIGERIANS ARE GOING THROUGH ANOTHER MMM PHASE WITH CRYPTO.
Ponzi schemes hit the Nigeria scene around 2017. Then I was in uni and felt the full swing of the get-rich-quick hysteria via pyramid schemes.
The Ponzi scheme hysteria had the semblance of an evangelical movement. At every corner, you'd find people--self-acclaimed investment gurus trying to squeeze out money from other people's pockets.
Fortunately, I was unable to invest in those money-doubling schemes. The same cannot be said about many Nigerians who did. I have a cousin who lost about 2million naira via a Ponzi scheme called MMM. I am certain you know a couple of people who lost a fortune during that period as well.
The gains from Ponzi schemes were mind-blowing and so were the losses. Unfortunately, the Nigerian community hasn't learnt much from their previous peril with pyramid schemes.
The other day on the radio, I heard someone shilling digital assets which was ironic given the CBN ban on crypto in Nigeria. I couldn't help but laugh because I knew a lot of people were going to lose a lot of money investing in things they can barely understand.
The ad on the radio wasn't a scam per se but it had this pump and dump undertone which oftentimes leads to losses. This is not the best route for a new investor coming into the crypto industry.
The world of digital assets is quite exciting and terrifying at the same time. You often hear the phrase 'dumb money' in crypto and this simply means a lot of money goes into the wrong places.
I can look at the top 20 coins in terms of market capitalization and point out 10-12 which have not any practical use case. It is just a case of the duplicity of functions--a lot of coins/projects mirroring each other.
This is not an agenda to scare people away from crypto. Rather it is a call to my fellow countrymen to do their due diligence. Many are unaware that the crypto market is currently experiencing a bull run which means the value of many coins are overpriced--even those that are practically useless.
Before investing it is important to research the service or product you intend to buy. It is probably the hardest part about investing but necessary. Do not fall for the pump-and-dump schemes. Avoid chasing rising and falling candles. You're not a day-trader.
There is more to crypto than speculations. There is a lot about this industry that goes unnoticed and I wish people could search deeper. DO YOUR RESEARCH.
I will always advise people to get into decentralized social media as a means to acclimatize with the inner works of the crypto industry. There are several out there but my personal favourite is leofinance.io
In conclusion, there is still room for speculation and profit-making. This is one of the perks of being an early adopter in a growing industry. However, this doesn't negate the need to do proper research.
Posted Using LeoFinance Beta
