Bitcoin Forum

One of the most difficult tasks or challenges I've had is openly discussing the multitudes of positives that bitcoin has, with others that are skeptics.

I've been studying/reading/buying bitcoin since 2016. It's the best invention I've seen in my 50 years on this planet. The ability for anyone around the world, to take custody of their own money. The ability to transact with anyone, around the world, at any given time. The open ledger (blockchain) to hold all transaction accountable (that even the US Gov doesn't have).  The limited amount (21 million). The security.  The uptime.  I could go on...

But of all the discussions I've had with co-workers, friends, and relatives about bitcoin, it seems to fall on deaf ears.  In fact, if talking to more than one person, it seems to be almost a witch-hunt on how bad of a ponzi bitcoin is, and how 'it is backed by nothing', etc.

Now I realize that this reaction comes out of either fear, ignorance, or not knowing enough about it.  But no matter how hard I try to educate someone on the positives, it falls on deaf ears with some.  And it's deflating to the core.

I've been in this space for 6-7 years.  I can't imagine how tough it must be for some of you OG's.  Do you still try to enlighten others, or do you relinquish to the fact that you aren't really gonna change someone's opinion, only they can do that?

You don't need to convince everyone about bitcoin. OP you have researched and know about bitcoin since 2016, and it is clear that not everyone will accept bitcoin positively.
If you are willing to convince anyone about bitcoin/crypto do tell them about all the risks involved with bitcoin investment.

Personally, I am completely done with trying to persuade the unpersuadable with the simple fact that Bitcoin > Fiat. If the ignorant wish to remain ignorant, then so be it. If they want to live their lives in poverty out of ignorance, so be it! If they want to ignore the fact that Bitcoin is the next gen money, then so be it.

Anyone wants to sell their Bitcoin? Go ahead, I will gladly buy it all up. And I will not be giving it back.

Some people are incorrigible and thats just the way the world is. The rest of us know why Bitcoin will be the global money and why it will kill banks and fiat.

I try and not let peoples lack of financial awareness/intelligence get me down and deflated.  As a financial advisor I'm constantly dealing with people who have no idea what they're doing or talking about when it comes to all things finance, including bitcoin, but all you can do is educate.  Put them to the task.  Ask them "why do you feel this way?"  Or ask them to explain things such as the blockchain.. (the vast majority of people who are bitcoin naysayers can't even explain what a blockchain is.  So yeah, just push back and educate is my advice.

A person with no idea of how ponzi work other than how it is backed by nothing is illogical calling bitcoin as ponzi.
In fact almost every local currency in the world is backed by nothing other than trust to the government itself since tge gold standard was removed.

Bitcoin value with a simply supply and demand will explain everything.

If Bitcoin was such a fantastic invention, everyone in the world would be using it. But when people see that no one around them uses it, it becomes very easy to dismiss it as a ponzi scheme or some other FUD narrative.

So instead of focusing on countering attacks on Bitcoin, it would be more productive to focus on convincing people to adopt it. And using old narratives that "it's a revolution", "it will replace all banks" is not going to work, people have been hearing it for years. Better show them how it can improve their lives here and now.

Count me in on the Bitcoin naysayers' side :D

Even though I understand and trust in Bitcoin, know the potential of Bitcoin would be in the future, but when my friend or someone talk about Bitcoin with me, I try to act stupid or naysayer. This because I don't want anyone know if I hold Bitcoin because I really care with my privacy. What can you expect when you teach Bitcoin to your friend? ask them to invest Bitcoin in order to improve their financial status? it's not your business to make anyone rich.

You have to be flexible with your talks about Bitcoin to your co-workers, friends and relatives. Not all of them will show attention in what you said and not all of people actually listened to your speech will have interests in Bitcoin.

Who have interests in Bitcoin will ask you more especially after they go home and do their research.
Who don't have interests in Bitcoin, please let them be. Don't waste your time on them. They are free to listen to you or ignore you and if they think Bitcoin is a Ponzi, let them be.

When time comes, they will return to ask you but I believe when time comes, you will no longer have interests to educate them about that.

Bitcoin don’t need us. We need bitcoin.

That’s all you gotta know and tell the bitcoin skeptics. They don’t have to hear the rest of the story and they probably won’t care anyway. When the time is right, they will have a situation where they will have to use bitcoin and then they will realize how great btc actually is. Till then, don’t waste your breathe on them.

People can produce countless of arguments to defend their current financial positions. Why try to convince them? Let them do what they want. Bitcoin don’t need us.

I'm not an OG. And I think I'm not the kind of guy who will insist on others how Bitcoin is the kind of technology that provides the level of financial freedom our current fiat currency cannot. I don't even initiate conversations related to Bitcoin anymore. I used to. It's not that I don't want to share what little knowledge I have; it's just that it would be safer not to. Or it's often the case that people's impression on Bitcoin is strong enough that you might only end up misunderstood. It's better to just let them get to know Bitcoin online. There's abundant resources there anyway.

The presence of bitcoin in this world, of course, there are those who welcome it and some who don't, even when it first appeared, many rejected it, because they didn't realize how valuable bitcoin would be in the future. and in my opinion op, you do not think too much
about people who have a negative view of bitcoin.
because one day they will realize it by themselves, and people who have a negative view of bitcoin will definitely regret it, that is, regret not buying it long ago.

Their skepticism is mostly the result of past frustrations about several financial systems that have failed, in general it's all just offering get-rich-quick schemes.
Yeah, they may choose to close their minds to any new financial terminology next, even if it's completely different technically. However you don't have to indoctrinate them, you have to get used to opposing opinions.

What's the point of explaining to other people who are clearly against bitcoin because regardless of any facts and data the results are the same they won't like this because indeed from the start they were also very skeptical about bitcoin so we don't have to do anything about it .
It would be great if indeed we could change the beliefs of skeptical people like this, but we also don't need to waste time and convince other people to like bitcoin, especially if that person is a skeptic of bitcoin.

I never tried to enlighten anyone. I talk about crypto sometimes, but I never say something like "you should buy BTC" or "you missing out on such an opportunity". If I'll be the one to bring someone in and he'll fails in the bear market I'll be the one to blame.

They are like us, only believe and have faith when they do it themselves, no one can impose their thoughts on us and vice versa. Honestly, I don't want to give advice or tell someone to invest in bitcoin because I know that no matter what I say, they will never believe it. The best way to change their mind is to show them how your economy changed when you invested in bitcoin. I mean, prove to them that your bitcoin investment is making you richer than them, your economy better. What they want is the result, when you have the result, they will believe you, or they will earn their own bitcoin without your help.

My go-to story for how Bitcoin is useful is when I had to pay a freelancer $2,000, he lived in another country, and he needed the money that day. You can't send $2,000 across borders with paypal or a bank transfer and expect the other person to receive it in anything under a week, but with Bitcoin, he got it in 10 minutes. Truly something that only Bitcoin can handle.

I personally only focus on myself in this case because I really like bitcoin and that's enough. I don't need to convince anyone else to like bitcoin especially the skeptics of it.
Your liking for bitcoins must be based on yourself and you don't need to force your will when other people don't like bitcoins.
We just have to focus on ourselves and reminding others is important but if you are against it then there is no need to convince anything else because it will be useless.

Well, no, because the fewer people who know that I have bitcoin, the better. If the subject comes up, I'll talk about it out of curiosity but without being envious of the fact that I own bitcoin. It's funny because you always find the typical know-it-all who thinks he knows a lot about the subject, tries to be an authority on the subject and in reality makes a fool of himself.

There's no point trying to explain Bitcoin to someone, who doesn't understand finance and economics. The people are used to fiat money, because this is what they have been using on a daily basis for their entire lives. There are several things that scare them away from Bitcoin:
1.The price volatility.
2.The "opportunity" to forget their passwords/private keys and lose all the BTC in their wallets forever(or sending BTC to the wrong address).
3.The amount of crypto scams, that are offering something that is too good to be true.
4.The centralized crypto exchanges blocking their funds for some BS reason or they are simply getting hacked(or turning into exit scams).
There are plenty of reasons for the people to be scared of Bitcoin/crypto. That's why mass global adoption of BTC hasn't become a reality.
I'm a Bitcoiner, but I still believe that the crypto industry is far from perfect.

I'm not an OG, but been in the market at the height of 2017 and sure majority of us here have been around that time frame, first time for us to be in a very nice year to be involved in bitcoin. Nevertheless, I understand where you coming from, there are a lot of negativity in bitcoin, we have the old and traditional stock brokers and investors calling it every possible, Like Warren Buffett stance 'it isn't going to do anything' statement.

But as Satoshi himself said,

“If you don’t believe it or don’t get it, I don’t have the time to try to convince you, sorry.”

Of course not, I have other important activities in this space. Besides, explaining new things to people with different knowledge bases requires a different approach, which I don't necessarily succeed in that way. Just make sure that they fundamentally disprove the bitcoin concept, then let them be completely anti-bitcoin and you don't have to do anything else.

Teaching lots of people to be welcoming is better than insisting on convincing someone to be closed off.

Thats it, its familiarity, everyone is familiar with the FIAT system and they are tied into it
with salaries, loans and mortgages.

Its about education both financially and Blockchain/Bitcoin but most of the time people want
proof. The best proof is when Bitcoin
crosses the ATH, more people will flock to Bitcoin for the wrong reasons and will still
be uneducated.

This also is related to the media and how they portray Bitcoin, and everyone likes to
believe the media, generally speaking.

I think we have all at some stage tried to teach friends and colleagues about Bitcoin and
have not had successful results, there comes a time when you just have to look after #1.

I can understand your frustration when it comes to discussing Bitcoin with others who may not share the same level of enthusiasm or understanding as you. It can be challenging to convey the benefits and potential of a technology or innovation to those who are skeptical or lack knowledge.
However, it's important to keep in mind that people come from different backgrounds and experiences that shape their views and beliefs. It's also essential to remember that it's not your responsibility to convince others of the value of Bitcoin or any other technology.
With that said, it's still worthwhile to have open discussions and share your knowledge and experiences with others who are interested in learning more. You may not be able to change someone's opinion, but you can provide them with accurate and insightful information to help them make an informed decision.
In these discussions, it's important to approach the topic with an open mind and to avoid being too pushy or aggressive with your views. You can also share resources and articles to help educate them further, and encourage them to do their own research.
At the end of the day, it's up to each individual to decide for themselves whether or not they believe in the potential of Bitcoin or any other innovation. All you can do is share your perspective and knowledge, and let them make up their own mind.

I don't try to change people's opinion about BTC, if someone has formed an opinion about BTC, it is because of misinformation and negative news they have read about BTC online, but i also know that such people who have read the wrong information about BTC have also read the correct information too, but they have come to the conclusion on the one they want to believe, and i don't try to change that. I don't think it is possible that someone who has formed an opinion about BTC was only able to read media misconception, they must have also read accurate information about the network, so if they have made their choice, i can't try to change it. Not being selfish, but i concentrate more on my own development and knowledge in the network.

For those who have no knowledge of bitcoin, it is useless to talk about the supply, what they need is faith in bitcoin. To this day, bitcoin is still rejected by people simply because the government, the government is still the most influential authority, once they don't accept bitcoin, getting people to believe in it is tough. Suppose if the US government and other major powers simultaneously declare bitcoin as a better asset than gold, we will immediately see people's acceptance increase rapidly.
Trying to explain bitcoin to someone is a waste of time, try to show them what we get for investing in bitcoin instead, that's the best way.

Faith? You are going to tell a unknowledgeable to bitcoin about "faith in bitcoin"? If you were the one who try to convince me about that bitcoin ideology then i'll be one of those peers of OP who will tell bitcoin is indeed a ponzi base on that ideology.

Anyone who knows supply and demand on explaining it will gasp at least a little knowledge on how bitcoin works, on how it had a value when it doesn't have physical form because that's how bitcoin increase so much, simply because of its demand.

Evidence such as an increase in the price of Bitcoin that can reach ATH is enough to make them believe.
But when Bitcoin drops drastically from ATH they start to be afraid and also don't believe it.

That indicates they are not mentally prepared and do not understand how bitcoin works and what the risks are.
People who have good financial education and knowledge about what blockchain and cryptocurrency are, of course they will be easier to direct.

When the price of bitcoin is very affordable like today, many of them (beginners) are afraid to enter.
Even though this is the right time before the new ATH is reached.
But when the price of bitcoin started to rise, everyone is flocking to enter and buy bitcoin at high prices.
Unconsciously they have been hypnotized by Bitcoin FOMO.

If you haven't gotten any results from teaching someone, then let it go. We have tried to guide them in a good direction, but they cannot accept it and are even afraid of the fluctuations that occur. But, when the bull market has started to arrive, believe me they will start looking for you.

That is true but that is not going to happen at all, we are not going to see governments say that bitcoin is better than gold. What we could see however is governments end up saying bitcoin is good, not say better than gold but saying it is good. If that ever happens I agree that what you said may happen and I am rooting for that right now.

Look at El Salvador, they basically said bitcoin is awesome, and if something even remotely close happens with bitcoin as well, then we are going to see it do so much better. We just need to have a situation where we trust bitcoin and its future and that would be a lot better for all of us at the same time.

Just rely on the latter.

We can't change the perspective of someone towards bitcoin and what they know about it. If they lack knowledge about it, then they wouldn't care about with anything we say.

I've been very vocal years ago to my friends and relatives about it. But I've lost my interest and enthusiasm in sharing it to anyone that aren't even willing to listen.

In general, I believe that you don't need to convince anyone that you are right. However, you have the right to your own opinion and are free to express it, regardless of whether it coincides with your opponent's. You can simply explain something, tell about your own experience.

Especially when it comes to cryptocurrencies. Everyone has had or has their own experience in this area. Some people have good experiences, some have bad ones. No one will ever be able to come to a single point of contact. Because even if you read the media, you can find different information on different websites, and everyone will think that the truth is on their side.

Therefore, I think it is better to express your opinion, but not to prove it to anyone or convince your opponent.

Good luck!))

Wall Street has a saying about stocks needing to climb a ‘wall of worry’ in order to increase in value safely. Don’t get discouraged when people are negative about Bitcoin. They’re the wall of worry that the price will climb to go higher. When you should get worried is when everyone is positive and saying Bitcoin is going to the moon. That’s usually the time to sell.

I think it's helpful to understand a few things about people and how we tend to act in discussions or disputes before applying it to Bitcoin, and then it might be obvious why your attempts to convince friends and colleagues weren't successful, op. So we like to think that we are rational and convinced with facts, but that's not true. We accept facts when we are open to it, and if we are convinced we are right, we ignore facts that try to disprove our beliefs. So if a person is sure that Bitcoin is useless, you need to start slow, and even then you're not likely to fully succeed. The key to successful negotiations is finding common ground. If a person thing Bitcoin is a scam, you could say that scams are terrible, and that it's sad people are being robbed like that, and that we all want to have more safety. Then you can slowly start pointing out that banks also go bankrupt, and haven't you noticed that terrible inflation going on, with food costing more? And present Bitcoin as a good alternative that has its benefits, while agreeing about the risks.

I used too get annoyed, especially at family gathering where the same questions, and mostly negative comments were made. However, that's changed. I don't really talk about it much anymore, and I couldn't care less what the news is putting out. I've come less interested in reading the news in recent years, and that's not just because of the negativity towards Bitcoin, but in general. The news is very toxic, and almost always has an agenda to their stories. So, I simply cut it out of my life. The only time I get news is through actual conversations, and when I decide to do further research into it.

Honestly, most of the naysayers are wrong, and the one's that do have valid points can be mitigated through various methods. For example, Bitcoin is risky, they'd be somewhat right. However, only to those that don't understand how long it might take, and the reason why I believe Bitcoin will be successful. I could care less about it's price, it's the value it adds to my life. I don't need a third party like a bank for example. Hence, the reason I think it'll continue to be a success. Then, you've got it's deflationary aspect, which you'll never get in any other investment. The closest being property, and that's only because it kind of follows inflation, not that it is deflationary itself.

Where do you think faith comes from? Why do you believe in bitcoin? Faith is not built through stories or persuasion from someone but is built from what we experience and verify for ourselves. That's why I say it's a waste of time trying to explain bitcoin to someone. I'm not explaining or trying to convince anyone, I don't have time to do that, and like I said. Show them the results we get from investing in bitcoin, their faith will start from there.
Supply and demand is a factor that makes bitcoin successful, we should not ignore them when talking about bitcoin, but it is not the first factor that opens the story for bitcoin to become more attractive.

You can have these kind of discussion with your co-workers or friends but if they are not convinced about it then let it go instead of getting frustrated or influenced by their talks.Some people who have negative influences are brainwashed about btc not being good source of investment or anything else but they never care to look for it themselves but it's their loss not yours so don't get into too much talks.

It's mostly out of ignorance. If people have been told that some invention can be used "mainly for making money and becoming rich", then that's all they are going to see it for, even if it has actual utility beyond that.

If people don't have a reason to use it e.g. their bank account wasn't shut down, then they won't bother changing their opinion.


Some people never change.

Don't try and convince anyone. Stack sats and enjoy their incredibly low price suppressed by human ignorance.

They will all jump on the bandwagon eventually. Some will do that at $100k, some at $1m, some at $10m. But they all will.

And they'll say you got lucky. But you know everyone buys BTC at the price they deserve.

it's easier to tell Bitcoin to someone who doesn't know anything at all, or someone a little curious and then asks us. instead of telling people who have read bad things about Bitcoin in the media.
I will say, unless you try to get into the market, you will not know the truth. My advice to you, you better leave the discussion to your friends who are skeptical about Bitcoin. and you can get a better space with people who think the same as you.

everyone has a different view of bitcoin and there are still many people who don't see bitcoin so when you talk about bitcoin with them it will be very tiring especially if they are not touched by bitcoin and focus on their affairs. The coolest thing in this case is if you can prove to your friends that you can be more independent and successful financially and in life, at that time I'm sure people who look down on your efforts to provide bitcoin knowledge at this point will flock - flocks to you and question how the tips and tricks can be successful and ask you to motivate them.

I agree that faith should always be built like that, not always like that unfortunately in the world, sometimes older people tell younger people to "have faith" in something, and younger people grow up believing that they should, when in fact they do not know why. Simplest would be governments for example.

Bitcoin gained trust of everyone and we have faith for it because we have seen that it deserve our faith, not because anyone told us to, but because we saw it ourselves. That is why I believe that we shouldn't be really worried about it, it should be as normal as it gets and shouldn't really be something that shocks us in the long run that people trust it and love it.

If you talk about bitcoin to many people, their reactions will surely vary, and maybe they will not believe what you are saying.
They tend to close themselves off and don't want to listen to other people's suggestions about something that might provide an opportunity for them to make more money.
That's natural because they have heard of many cases of fraud and will assume that bitcoin is a fraud so they don't want to try it.
I just tell them what bitcoin is and leave it entirely up to them and if they are interested in bitcoin and want to learn about it, I will teach them.
But for the people who aren't interested, I'll let them decide.
There's no point in changing someone's opinion if they don't want to know.

When ATH $100,000 is reached, the crypto market will be very hype with various media reporting the incredible price increase of bitcoin in history.
That will be the moment everyone starts flocking to get into crypto.

Teach those who really intend to focus on crypto even though the end result is not very satisfying.
But at least you did your best and warned them that the market would be bullish when the time was right.

To answer your question: no, I no longer try to educate people about Bitcoin. I tried for years but then I gave up. Last time I tried was back in something like 2019. And guess what? I failed every time. Now my pov has changed: if you're refusing to own/learn about Bitcoin you don't deserve it!

But I have to admit I haven't heard "bitcoin is a ponzi" for a while now. Mostly people are complaining they didn't invest earlier and "now it's too late". No, we're not late, we are still early and now is the time to buy. But as you put it: deaf ears haha  ;D

You're trying too hard. Don't fight them because some people live to argue. By giving them arguments you allow them to attack these arguments or ignore them. You, as the old saying goes, wrestle with a pig.


It often does, in any field. Look at politicians and their debates.


I don't try anymore unless someone approaches me with these ridiculous ideas that it's a ponzi scheme. I simply tell them to give me a definition of a ponzi scheme and show me how it relates to a decentralized payment system.

 
7 years is already a long time to be involved with crypto currencies, I haven't been around much longer than you. By now all my friends and family know about cryptos as I have told them countless times about the opportunities, but there quite a few people that are still reluctant to accept the positive aspects of cryptos. I can understand my parents and great parents that are already old and don't want to buy anything risky anymore. But some of my younger friends who are looking for ways to invest their money are still afraid of bitcoins. Which is a bit weird because they are looking for high returns to beat inflation, and still are afraid to accept some risks. What I learned over the years is that you can't convince everybody about the positive aspects of crypto currencies. Everybody has his own ideas and thoughts, and some people have made up their mind about cryptos that is not really rational and can't be changed by arguments. The best thing for me is to avoid the topic all together and talk about things we have in common.

You shouldn't have to think about it until it makes you dizzy, sir.
If it turns out that there are still many people who don't consider your thoughts about Bitcoin.
Not everyone can agree with our thoughts and we cannot force our thoughts on others.
At least you have expressed your thoughts, if they don't agree with your thoughts then let them.
No need to think about it, it's better to give the knowledge and thoughts you have mastered about Bitcoin to interested people or people who ask you for advice.
That's better than continuing to debate people who can't and don't want to understand and study the potential of Bitcoin.

I don't try to enlighten other people, for me sharing them about the Bitcoin is enough.  Pushing them forward will only give me problem because when thing goes wrong, they will blame me for pushing them to join the Bitcoin economy.  For me I believe it is not my responsibility to enlighten them about Bitcoin.  It is their own diligent that they should do research on things that can give them a fortune.  So telling them about the existence of Bitcoin and giving some success story is enough, if they get interested then give them deeper information.  If they don't show any form of interest, I istop and don force them to believe on Bitcoin..

It sure is very hard sometimes to talk to some people about bitcoin. Some people are hell bent on their opinions and won’t budge from their own views no matter how hard you try to convince them. I wouldn’t exactly categorize all of them as ignorant people.
Some are not and some are just plain stupid. Others are afraid to think outside the box and wander out of what they’re comfortable with so they’re just okay doing and using what they’ve always done and used.

I still try to teach people that I sense are open to changing their views. It most times end up not so good but the few times I’ve gotten people to change their perspective about bitcoin is worth it and that edges me on.

This is why I am afraid to make my first move but I will only talk BTC to them once they mention something about it because I know that they are interested with it. I will only be honest so that they are aware if what to expect and I will not be blamed later on, in case there is something wrong with what they have done but they can always consult me again if ever they want to improve and compare their results with me.

For those people who are not convinced, well that is already their problem already. Just let these kind of people be jealous once they found out that Bitcoin just break another new ATH and it will be featured on the headlines again.

One thing about bitcoin naysayers is that they will always find excuses and reasons to hate on bitcoin. I couldn't trust people who are so consistently negative of something promising like bitcoin despite the years of proof it has already provided; not even if my life depended on it.

Or maybe I'm only saying this because I've spent most of my life around bitcoin and crypto, well whatever that is.

Personally, I wouldn't want you to trust these people, they are naysayers, they'd always say no, regardless of any valid point you throw back at them. Talking to them is like talking to a brick wall, you can never change their ideals. Some of them make valid points tho, which is something that could really scare you, but provided that you studied bitcoin personally, I'm pretty sure you have enough knowledge of who to trust and who not to. The decision to falter is entirely yours.