Although it could be a good idea and investing should really be ahead of gambling, this isn't really possible. Gamblers don't have the will or time to invest in something and wait for it to make a profit, it just takes the joy from them. The thing with gambling is that you can play many different games, gamble on different stuff and it is so flashy and attention getting, it fills the gamblers dopamine receptors so they can easily be addicted.

In any case, they get more fun out of it and they know the result of their bet almost instantly and if they win money - it just digs deeper. I think gamblers and investor are themselves for a reason, so there is no point of mixing them if they don't want to change. Also I don't think we should motivate them into anything before helping cure the addiction.

I think that the Bitcoin community is actually where it should be in terms of adoption. Even though everybody likes to see Bitcoin grow more and more mainstream, maybe it should stay in some circle of people - not a small, closed circle but it definitely isn't for everyone and anyone. Mostly, people who are into tech or investments at some level are surely interested about Bitcoin and will definitely consider investing or using it so there is a kind of a targeted community(of course, it isn't the case with every user).

The ones that aren't that much informed or interested wont use it, so they filter themselves. Of course, we should help educate the uninformed but without pressure and then they will decide whether they are actually interested or not. So to sum it up, I would say we are doing everything in our hands and we should continue this way without added pressure.

It really depends on which countries are we talking about and their stance since the beginning. Some countries could really change their opinion and lower the guard towards Bitcoin but some could use that as a mask to try and profit themselves. For example, I recently had a thread about Banks giving the option to invest in Bitcoin and even though the opinions are mixed, I think it is used only in their interest.

 So, governments can start taxing Bitcoin with the help of those(and other) centralized systems and start tracking money movement of the addresses people use in that system/exchange. Of course you could still remain anonymous but they will take a friendly stance to gain any kind of upper hand. This isn't global though, countries that are less corrupt or don't work for only their interest exist but sadly this isn't a majority.

Good for Bitcoin publicity, maybe not so good for users.

Rather than getting your mom and her business into Bitcoin, maybe you should try doing something of your own? If your currency isn't stable or in inflation, you could try earning Bitcoin or earning money trough the internet and then buy Bitcoin if you have some marketable skills. I don't know how much you know about Bitcoin, but you can always spend time learning - you have great threads around here to help you understand it better and you can always go to the Services board and try either finding something you are eligible to do or offer your service.

Either way, it's  always better to try and do something by yourself and nowadays the world is full of opportunities. Good luck in your Bitcoin journey.

That's a very smart move, which I've also been wanting to do for a long time now. Unfortunately for me, I haven't stabilized my business yet, so I can't really invest until I do and I see that you aren't in a good position either right now. I would recommend investing smaller portions of money until the hard times pass and you have higher, more stable income and don't invest more than you are comfortable losing at this time.

Other than that, I think you have made a good decision just be cautious and hopefully you will help your economic state. I also recommend adding the possibility of paying in Bitcoin as you can maybe get a few new customers and make it easier for you to invest.

I don't get how people could be negative and judge this, probably if you are mining Bitcoin nothing smart you do is credited. I mean, I couldn't ever think of this if I had miners, this is a genius idea - you're earning cash and not wasting any energy, that's what you call maximum utilization.

As for fire hazards, I would like you to see which kind of old, rubbish electrical appliances (that draw more electricity than a miner) are being used in poor countries non-stop and rarely anything happens. I doubt miners would have any risk of a fire hazard and if was my home or business at question, I would definitely install some safety measures so even if a fire or anything similar happens, it would be easily possible to fix the situation immediately.

Either way, a smart idea at work and I think this could be applied to many other stuff if thought out well.

I guess we should introduce Bitcoin to possible users/investors as a currency, which it is and is made for. When talking with someone in person, we should mainly point out the benefits of using Bitcoin rather than fiat currency and all the differences that Bitcoin makes. And then after that, an introduction to the market and viewing Bitcoin as a possible investment.

Even though this could help, most online ads for exchanges/bitcoin services or articles describe Bitcoin as a volatile asset that most use for investing and making a profit. Since information travels much faster on the internet it is almost impossible to make a counter attack to those kind of sources. Bitcoin will always be a type of a closed circle, no matter how much we want to spread the info and adoption.

Financial freedom is a very wide term and what I would do would depend on how much income do I actually have? If I am not satisfied with the income I would probably invest more and work on expanding my business until I can actually retire into doing nothing. It would make the journey even longer but I would push it higher as much as I could.

If it means already having enough money to spend on anything then I would enjoy the extra time I have with my family and friends as well as helping them go the same way to financial freedom. Besides that, I would spend money and time on my hobbies (which I currently have quite a few, without that much money) - and one of the main ones would be traveling around the world, seeing some beautiful places and trying something new everyday. That would be paradise, not neglecting yourself and your loved ones because you have work to do and places to be.

Isn't this situation the reason you have emergency funds? If you think you can get trough this hard period, you should use that fund rather than selling assets because that's the last thing you should do. Only start selling assets if it becomes the only exit for that problem. I also recommend storing your fiat into some stable currency, rather than your own. For an example, I store my cash in Euros(luckily, I can use it besides my local currency), since it is much safer than my local currency, which is already starting to be in inflation as well.

Even though inflation can be a really big problem, I hope you will get trough this situation without having to sell your assets.

Most of information which normal people get are lies. The system doesn't want people to be rich or be informed, so its logical that they wont support Bitcoin unless they can tax it or use to their advantage. Bitcoin can make anyone who invests smart rich or at least wealthier, without the government tracking your money and taxing it, which is mostly why we all work - to grow their economic system and earn them money.

The common man is just used to work for a bigger cause from which he gets very little in return, enough to survive or have a half decent life. Put your work in and put your earned money in banks, that's what they want. I'm not saying Bitcoin investors are some geniuses off the grid, but we at least have an opportunity to do what we want thanks to Bitcoin.

I don't know why people still have this question every once in a while. Considering Bitcoin as a gamble would mean every other investment is also gambling, which is certainly not the case. Gambling is more luck based and those games are made so casinos make a fat profit on people who think they will win big or on people that just play something occasionally, for entertainment.

Trading on investing in crypto works the same any other investment (except the markets aren't similar). If you go into it smart and know what you are doing, you should be able to make some money and it is not luck based, it depends on the rest of the market and more importantly on you.
If you view it as gambling, why don't you view buying a house or a car gambling? Those are investments as well and you can lose in value of those assets.

Definitely not, even though some people would say the contrary. As a business owner (in Europe as well), I totally agree on the points you make - taxes are mostly low key robbery. I know that everyone should pay as that's how the system functions and we couldn't live without it as we do, but most of it is really stealing hard earned money.

I wouldn't suggest illegal tax evasion, you should rather do it smart and stay in legal circle. If you research enough, you will see how many options you have on being eligible to write some taxes off.
Of course I wont pay for something I don't have to if I find a loophole or trick to avoid giving out money while avoiding being in trouble with the authorities.

I'm guessing this could easily be done by withdrawing to several offshore bank accounts. Yes, you would have to open up a few of them but today it's very easy to open up accounts in countries you have no connection to - and it's not really expensive or time consuming to do. You could gain attention and it still would be difficult not to if you have a very large amount of cash flowing in. But I guess this could work up to a reasonable amount of money and if you are not someone very known as you've said.

Username: PeRo
BTC SegWit Address: bc1qsdaq3mq576pvt55g8axc4lwjzng460svx444xf

*Note: Came back after not being active for a while (you can see on profile), but I plan on being active for longer

I totally agree with you! I guess people want Bitcoin to be the strongest asset, but it is a question if it can really get to that level as it is a much younger asset and market. I rather like to be realistic than pushing Bitcoin to the stars.

The Bitcoin community is full of those theories and speculations but the reality is what we can already see and what the market shows - as you've said. Yet again, who knows what the future holds, it's definitely too early to say.

I get that, as every asset is being compared. My question was more about the statement "Bitcoin must surpass gold". Even though there is a comparison, I don't think any kind of competitive measure should be held. Just my surface level opinion, even though I'm not much of an investor or analytic.

My actual first purchase(and a few others after that one) was nothing exciting, it was a game on Steam - from a great time when Steam used to accept Bitcoin directly. I was earning trough signature campaigns and doing various tasks here and it really helped me as I could buy stuff I couldn't afford before.

After a while, I've decided to stack up my earnings and buy something bigger and more useful, as games started to bore me. And then we get to my first physical purchase - an electric guitar and amp. I've accumulated what was then around 60 euros and after a pump in price those Bitcoins were worth 250 euros.

The total Bitcoin I've spent would be worth 6k euros when Bitcoin hit the ATH, but I didn't think that it could go much higher back then. I was wrong but again, I have no regrets and I'm glad that I've bought something I like(and I still play it today) and something my parents couldn't afford buying. I still remember how surprised and proud they were when I was home unpacking it. That's mostly why I love Bitcoin so much.

I didn't earn big money, but maybe I wouldn't ever play the guitar and to me, that is priceless.

First of all, Bitcoin and gold aren't the same type of asset or investment so I don't know why it should even be compared. Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency with a fixated market cap and a very different market while gold isn't as limited and it is surely not used as a currency. Why would Bitcoin surpassing gold be a must? I just din't see the connection.

Also, I don't know what backs up the argument that Bitcoin is 10 times stronger. Stronger in exactly which terms? I don't think we should even compare those two assets and I think gold will always be a strong asset as it is now - since whole countries back up their wealth in gold.

I don't have a screenshot because, as I stated - I was working at a company and had authorization to access their bank account including the e-bank app from my work phone. It's not a secret, the bank in question is from Lithuania, I can't remember the exact name of it right now as it was a few years ago.

I do currently own a business and have an account in a Magyar bank, but they do not offer such exchanges/investments in Bitcoin.
I'm also presuming most of the forums members are from the US, I don't know if these services are a thing there, but these banks are clearly offering this in Europe.

The thing is, the bank isn't in my state (as the company isn't), so I don't really know the regulations. Maybe they were using some exchange powered by themselves or some associate, who knows. I'm sure they just want to get more money in any way possible.

This topic was pulled up many times on this forum. I still don't think we can do anything to bring lost Bitcoins back and we probably shouldn't. Bitcoin will always be usable, regardless of those millions missing - they are even helping the price being higher by making the supply smaller. I don't know if you have taken into consideration that there are Bitcoin halvings which makes it harder to mine Bitcoin and as a byproduct, the price goes higher and the market cap is harder to be filled.

Anyway, you should not worry about Bitcoin coming to an end or something similar, it is very far away from today (maybe it wont ever even happen) and just enjoy it being regulated as it is right now. We shouldn't try to fix anything that isn't broken, it's the nature of Bitcoin and it is to be leaved how it is.