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Crypto gist is a Yellow Card series that features stories of real life people across Africa around cryptocurrencies. You'll read funny but educative stories in the Crypto Gist series.

Crypto Gist is a series that highlights the stories of real people around Africa around cryptocurrencies. Our guests share their crypto experiences - intro to crypto, wins, scams, losses and lessons. Would you like to tell your story? Don’t hesitate. Fill out this form to share your story.

Hello, Can we meet you?

I’m Martha, a tentative crypto trader.

Tentative? Why?

I'm a crypto trader, but I just started, so I can't call myself a guru just yet. I'm still learning; I don't think you can ever stop learning. For me, I still feel like a newbie crypto trader. Do you get?

Lol, sure! So how did you get into the crypto space?

Around 2020, I think that's when most people began to hear about bitcoin, crypto etc. Crypto talk was the trendiest gist on the internet; you know, with Covid et al.

I've always been curious about money, so I was drawn into cryptocurrencies as they seemed like an opportunity to earn more. You don't get rich on a salary alone!

Word! So how did you actively start trading in crypto?

I had a few male friends in the crypto space. Come to think of it, I don't know many crypto babes like that! One especially was an active crypto trader who was kind of into me. I was always whining him to teach me. I want to fish, don't just give me fish. He was really good at it, so he sent a few articles to get me started, but I have a full-time job, so I got distracted.

Anyway, skip to September 2020, my birthday; he gifted me $200 in bitcoin as a birthday gift. Omo! He legit made my day. You know how they ask., "what would you do with a million dollars?" it felt almost like that for me. I had gotten my first cryptocurrency, so I was super pumped.

I withdrew $100 and decided to test run the remaining by investing. Omo, I made losses o! I had just about 60 dollars left from my initial investment, so I decided to add more money. That's how I became more interested in learning how to trade.

How did that work out for you?

It was going relatively well until that CBN thingy; I already diversified my funds small, but my significant funds were in one place. With the CBN ban, I think withdrawals were disabled. I wanted to run mad. I had almost $1000 locked in the account at that time. I called customer support ehn; I wanted to quench. So yes, I admit I was a weak trader; I wanted all my funds out of crypto.

I didn't understand the ban then; I thought it was a crime to own cryptocurrencies, so I was pretty agitated. Eventually, I reached out to customer support after a month or two. They told me I could sell my cryptocurrencies through alternatives and get my money back. At that time, all I could think about was that these people wanted to stress me.

That must have been frustrating for you.

Yes, it was. But then, when my emotions had calmed down, I got more clarity on the CBN proposition and started getting more familiar with direct trading. It wasn't easy, but I had seen sweet money in 2020, so yes, I wanted to continue. In fact, I now wish I didn't rush to sell off at that time, but you learn from mistakes, right?

So how has your crypto journey been so far?

I don't think you ever get perfect, you know. I still trade cryptocurrencies but more actively (day trading). I've diversified my funds, gotten airdrops and even attempted minting an NFT though I wasn't successful. The crypto sphere is extensive, and you can never get around it, but it's been amazing.

Given the opportunity to advise newbies, what would be your recommendations?

I'm not sure; I'll just say take your time. One of the things that helped me is that I took my time researching before investing. It will give you ideas on the best strategies and all. While you are learning, you can always start with hodling, but as you get better, you can diversify and actively start trading.

Thank you very much, Martha. It was great having you

Anytime.

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