By Our Reporter
Over the years, many ponzi and pyramid schemes have fleeced Ugandans of billions of shillings as they mask as real money-making opportunities, yet they are simply fronts to rob people of their money.
In the crypto world, the OneCoin cryptocurrency scam readily comes to mind as it raised billions of pounds from investors and misled them that they were buying into a new digital currency.
Perhaps because of Ugandan’s welcoming attitude towards cryptocurrencies, many have been taken advantage of and have fallen victim to a number of scams.
For instance, a 2019 report by the Financial Intelligence Authority to the Clerk to Parliament named 18 pyramid schemes and how they have defrauded Ugandans of billions of shillings in the past 15 years. According to the report, most of the Ponzi schemes that managed to rob Ugandans of their hard-earned coins worked as affiliates to purchase a package (s).
Basically, Ponzi schemes take money from one person to pay another while pyramid schemes generate returns for earlier investors with money taken from later investors.
Both of these schemes involve dishonest means of taking advantage of innocent individuals by encouraging them to invest their savings into ventures that have no underlying product with a promise of extraordinary returns while the whole system does not generate any money. At the end of the day, the creators of these schemes take all the available money in the system and let it collapse.
And with the growing popularity of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, these scammers are now hiding these same schemes under the guise of cryptocurrency, still promising extravagant returns which when one sees the booming price of bitcoin may give credence to these scams.
But it is important to not fall victim to these scams again. And for those interested in cryptocurrencies, this means going through a trustworthy organisation that is transparent and secure.
Trading cryptocurrency safely
A cryptocurrency like bitcoin provides its own authenticity, validity and value thanks to blockchain technology. lt is a decentralized peer-to-peer payment network that is powered by its users with no central authority.
Many of the existing cryptocurrencies serve as a medium of exchange as well as investment options. And one of the features of cryptocurrencies is that they are easily available to everyone. But with the rising occurrence of scams, there is a need for a reliable way to trade crypto.
This is where Yellow Card comes in.
Yellow Card is a cryptocurrency exchange whose mission is to ensure that everyone can attain financial freedom and also to see to it that financial inclusion for all is properly met. The company believes that cryptocurrency offers a good way for everyone to achieve this and have created a safe and secure platform to aid the buying and selling of cryptocurrency.
It is important to note that Yellow Card is not offering any new coin or an investment scheme of any sort. As a cryptocurrency exchange, they make it easy for anyone to buy and sell known cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, ethereum and tether with shillings.
With the launch of Yellow Card in Uganda, what this means is that anyone can access cryptocurrencies via Yellow Card’s web app on any browser or the mobile app for Android or iOS by simply signing up and funding their personal wallet.
Yellow Card Financial is a venture capital-backed FinTech startup focused on building a new financial infrastructure for the African continent. To pursue its ambitious goals the company raised $1.5 million from the Celo Ecosystem fund, an initiative of the Celo and Andreessen Horowitz, a prominent Silicon Valley venture capital fund and has since been providing a safe platform for Africans to trade cryptocurrencies with their local currency.
With the country’s Anti-Money Laundering Act being modified to include virtual assets (crypto) providers under the regulation’s umbrella, regulators are recognising companies like Yellow Card and the freedom their services are offering to many.
To join Yellow Card and protect yourself from any crypto Ponzi/pyramid schemes while trading and earning a living from buying and selling bitcoin, register online or download the mobile app for your app store.