Is it too late to buy bitcoin?

It’s 2024 and one thing you’ve heard over and again almost every day of the week is how bitcoin is breaking its own records and setting new all-time highs. Almost every day! But you are one of those that exercise caution when it comes to what you put your money into -- and rightly so! Because scams have so pervaded the digital world today that if you’re not careful, you could lose all your money in the blink of an eye.

Yet, here you are unable to shake the feeling that there just might be something different about bitcoin. And, of course, you’re right; bitcoin, as many have put it, is the digital gold and the money of the future. So, here comes the question at the back of your mind - is it too late to buy bitcoin?

Let’s add some context. Bitcoin was created just over a decade ago in 2009 and it was worth next to nothing then mainly because many people had no idea what it was. Fast forward to 2020, bitcoin experienced an extraordinary kind of growth. This growth saw it leap from about US$3,850 in March 2020 to over US$29,000 at the end of the year.

That means if you had invested $100 into bitcoin in March 2020, it would be worth about $750 by the end of that year. That’s over 650% increase in less than 12 months.

Now, you understand the importance of the question “is it too late to buy bitcoin?”. But don’t be dismayed just yet and conclude that you’re late to the party. While it is apparent that the value of bitcoin has seen massive gains lately, it is vital to understand why the price of bitcoin is on the rise. That way, you can know what to expect, if it is indeed too late to buy bitcoin and, if it isn’t, when to buy bitcoin.

Why the bitcoin price is on the rise

Bitcoin was created to solve some fundamental problems with the existing financial system as well as grant financial freedom to everyone. For instance, since bitcoin is not controlled by any governing body, its growth cannot be stifled by any central bank or any organisation.

Also, because bitcoin is borderless, you can easily send any amount of bitcoin from South Africa to someone in China and it will arrive in just a few minutes. The best part is that it would cost you less than a fraction of what it would cost to use traditional banking systems to send an equivalent amount in fiat currency (normal money).

So, why has it taken so long for bitcoin to experience this kind of growth? Well, one major factor that affects the price of bitcoin is adoption. This is how many people are using bitcoin. Because bitcoin is operating on very new technology - the blockchain - it mainly attracted those who were cryptography fans and early adopters. But over the years, more people started seeing bitcoin for what it truly is. And as more people began to use it, the price began to rise as well.

Then in 2020, it was as if bitcoin adoption got on steroids. In this case, the “steroids” was institutional investments. That is, beyond the average individuals that have been using bitcoin, companies started to take an interest as well. And we saw the likes of Square, Inc., MicroStrategy and PayPal invest in bitcoin.

Read Also: Why Is Bitcoin Trading Growing Rapidly in Africa?

When to buy bitcoin

In case you still haven’t figured it out, here it is: bitcoin has been around for 12 years, and as an emerging technology that has the potential to reach every single human on the planet, that is a relatively short time. That means anyone buying bitcoin now would still be considered an early adopter.

This is why leading investment company Goldman Sachs has experienced an increased demand for bitcoin from its institutional clients and Chinese app development company, Meitu, recently added $10 million worth of bitcoin to its holding.

So, if you’re asking, “should I buy bitcoin now?”, what you should know is that bitcoin is here to stay and whatever time you choose to buy bitcoin and start using it is the right time for you.

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Where to buy bitcoin

Whether you’ve decided to buy bitcoin and use it as a medium of exchange or invest in bitcoin and hodl to make a profit as the value increases, an important decision to make is where to buy bitcoin.

This is where Yellow Card comes in.

As the safest and easiest crypto exchange in Africa, Yellow Card provides the best way for you to buy bitcoin with your local currency at the best rate.

For instance, to buy bitcoin in South Africa, you can easily create a Yellow Card account, fund your wallet with rand and buy any amount of bitcoin, as low as R100. To make this even easier for you, Yellow Card has a web wallet that can be accessed from a browser on any device and a mobile wallet for Android and iOS devices.

• Download the Yellow Card app for Android
• Download the Yellow Card app for iOS