Denis Opudo
For those who have involved themselves in the cryptocurrency, business knows the risks that come with it. The common question has always been, will it give me the expected benefit? Kenyan Eugine Mutai is not an exception to the risks taken on the cryptocurrency mining field. Given the fact that he understands the volatility of cryptocurrency it has not stopped him from carrying on with his mission.
Those who have stayed in rural parts of Kenya knows the nature of the odd jobs that are there those are what Mutai used to engage in some years back. Currently, he is based in Nairobi the Kenyan’s capital mining cryptocurrency. He carries the activity which he started researching on it in 2016 at his apartment. The windmill behind his research was why the market is that famous.
Mutai admits that it was not an easy task to mine bitcoin by then given the fact that there were many in the industry. However, he never lost hope but instead went for Ethereum as an alternative although it was not known to many. According to him, the cryptocurrencies changes one’s life that gives those that have a passion for technology but cannot afford the college fees a giving them finance at their disposal. But it comes with online challenges like fraud and hacking. A cryptocurrency is an uncorrupted digital coin. The transactions carried out with the coin are always added to an increasing database called blockchain where mining is hence carried out.
The ability to make money from the mining depends on the Hashrate. Hashrate is the speed of transaction verification. The faster one can verify transaction the more money they are in a position to make. The power of the computer is also a factor that determines the number of transaction one is in a position to make. Every successful transaction verification leads to awarding of share that is changed to cryptocurrency.
This seems to be mouthwatering business since there has been a gradual increase in the value of cryptocurrency. At the beginning of 2017, Bitcoin was selling at $966 currently it now goes at $18,000. Mutai is in a position to make $800 monthly. The only huge expense is the amount of power used in the mining process. Mutai says the monthly electricity bill runs at 20% of what he gets in a month although this is not a big deal given the persistent increase in valuation.
Mutai’s life has not always been a walk in the park, but he managed to sail through it with his head held higher. He managed to take a course in technology which made him an award winner as the top Kenyan developer by Git Awards in 2016. Mutai is ranked higher in Africa cryptocurrency entrepreneurs. BitHub is the renown as the main cryptocurrency operator in Nairobi Kenya. The startup was founded in 2015 by John Karanja which operates workshops on blockchain technology for upcoming developers. In countries with unstable currency like Zimbabwe, bitcoin has more value than the other countries.
However, as much as the business pays other sees it the wrong investment. According to Jamie Dimon, Chief executive officer of bank JP Morgan, the invention of the cryptocurrency makes it be seen as a fraud way of doing business. The security of bitcoin also poses a challenge for instance bitcoin worth $65 million went missing at Bitfinex based in Hong Kong which led to a reduction in value by 20%.
