Kevin O’Leary tells investors to be careful glorifying Bitcoin. He suggests that the apex cryptocurrency is yet to fulfil a defined role in financial markets and that there are significant regulatory risks that could negatively affect the market in the future.
The O’Shares Chairman says,
“I love to talk about it, it’s fun to watch it go up and down, but during the day, when the bell rings, I don’t talk to anybody that’s worried about this. They do not put capital to work in bitcoin.”
While O’Leary believes there is a likelihood that the concept of digital currency will be a reality in the future, there are several factors that could delay the fruition of such concepts.
“I’m waiting for the day that one of these regulators comes down hard on bitcoin. Grown men are going to weep when that happens. You’ll never see a loss of capital like that ever in your life. It will be brutal,”
Meanwhile, Africa’s dependence on cryptocurrency has increased significantly as economies in the continent feel the effects of covid. Before the 2016 recession, Nigeria’s economy was growing at 6.3% . Right before COVID struck, growth had slowed down to 2.2%. In the same period, inflation and underemployment increased, casting a shadow over prospects of significant industry growth in 2020. Development challenges continue to cripple the nation.
In many areas of the world, cryptocurrency is mainly used by financial traders. In Africa, however, a lot of people use cryptocurrency for commerce. Small businesses and individuals in Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa account for most of the activity.
With double-digit inflation, households in many African nations have to take more innovative steps to increasing their savings. As an example, Nigeria, Egypt, Malawi, Ghana, Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe were among the nations in Africa experiencing double-digit inflation which appeared to correlate with the interest of their populace in Bitcoin.
Photo by Viktor Forgacs on Unsplash
