If you relaly cared about your friends, you would suggest that they buy Bitcoins

[gigabytecoin]

I am...

I have convinced my brother and some of his friends...

My friend and some of his brothers...

My parents...

My girlfriend...

Anybody I know, care about, and can use a computer I have mentioned bitcoins to - because I don't want to be some billionaire enjoying his wealth alone!!!

If you can convince any of your friends to simply buy $50 USD worth of BTC... you will be doing yourself, themselves, and the entire world a HUGE favor!

Get going!!

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[allinvain]

Preach on brotha! But umm I think it's hit an miss with this whole proselytizing business. Some people are just to lazy and ignorant to think outside their box or comfort zone.

What really shocks me is how often I hear people telling me they think that their money is backed by gold. 

[JA37]

And if you want to keep your friends you would also tell them that the risk is HUGE at this point.
Buying bitcoins today is about as safe an investment as buying shares in a small pharma company with only one candidate drug in the pipeline. The rewards could be astonishing, but you could just as well lose all your money.

Be sure to mention that. That way you don't come off as a "pump and dump" artist.

[Reikoku]

Ultimately the success or failure of Bitcoin will be the success or failure to get major retailers to take it, particularly online retailers.

[bitcoinBull]

Ultimately the success or failure of Bitcoin will be the success or failure to get major retailers to take it, particularly online retailers.

Nope.  Does the success of gold or silver depend on the success of major retailers accepting gold and silver?

The success or failure of bitcoin is will be the extent of ability to trade bitcoin for dollars etc.. which are already accepted by online retailers.

[proudhon]

I'd be careful to make sure people understand the tremendous risk involved of getting into bitcoin as an investment.  This is still very experimental.

[Spurious]

Does the success of gold or silver depend on the success of major retailers accepting gold and silver?

Well, yes. Because governments came out and said our currency is backed by gold and/or silver, so you can always exchange the money for that.
It's slightly different, I know, but if you cant buy goods in BTC, the currency is worthless.


And OP, are you dense for giving investment advice to friends and family? I'd rather have poor friends than none.
Never ever do this, this is the most risky asset they could possibly invest in and you CONVINCE them to buy it. What do you think happens when BTC goes to 0, they'll be like "whatever"? Hell no, they blame you for losing their money.
Given the small sum invested, it's most likely not a big deal, but refrain from doing that.
It also doesnt help the currency at all, because they have no idea what it is about and never use it, just see it as an investment.

If you want to help the community, tell them about BTC, educate them, this is what we need.

[bitcoinBull]

Does the success of gold or silver depend on the success of major retailers accepting gold and silver?

Well, yes. Because governments came out and said our currency is backed by gold and/or silver, so you can always exchange the money for that.
It's slightly different, I know, but if you cant buy goods in BTC, the currency is worthless.

Nonsense.  It doesn't matter if you can't buy goods in BTC.  If you can buy dollars with BTC, then BTC is worth exactly however many dollars you can buy with it.  Simple stuff really.

EDIT:  Back to the topic.

Agreed.  My mom just invested.  Started telling my cousin to invest when it was around $5.. he dragged his heels until it was $8.70.  He already nearly doubled his investment and is thrilled.  My dad and sister have said they would but haven't gotten around to it.  They regret having waited more every time I inform them of the new price

I always tell them its not guaranteed, and not to invest more than they can afford lose.

[Ricochet]

4 days ago I met some friends at a tavern for the first time in a month.  Some other guy mentioned Bitcoin as one of two reasons that the US economy is going to collapse.  I did what I could to try to correct that notion and explain why Bitcoin is a good idea, but of course I only had a few minutes before the conversation shifted elsewhere and it would have been silly of me to bring it up again.

4 days ago the value was at $9 per Bitcoin.  Today it's at $17.  I wish I had convinced even one of them to buy in right then.  They would have treated it like a stock of course, pure speculation, but I have no doubt that these people would have eventually done some research and realized *why* it's a superior currency.  They're technical enough to understand it; they run websites that handle financial transactions for a group of about 1500 people.

Adding to my personal Regrets List again...

EDIT:  for context, the reason it was brought up was mention of Lockheed Martin's purchase of a quantum computer and how it could drastically change cryptology.  Bank account passwords and Bitcoin addresses were the two things that were mentioned as being vulnerable to it.

[justusranvier]

If you can convince any of your friends to simply buy $50 USD worth of BTC... you will be doing yourself, themselves, and the entire world a HUGE favor!

Get going!!

You most certainly are not. All you're doing is fueling a speculative mania even further.

You can do everyone a favor by convincing them to sell whatever idle productive capability they have for Bitcoins. That's where economic benefits actually derive from. Getting rich from currency speculation is a zero-sum game.

If you want to increase your personal wealth without taking it from someone else you either need to do more work or more productive work. Bitcoin helps with this because it allows people to sell their skills in situations that would be impossible or unprofitable in other currencies which means they can increase their personal economic output.

[Timo Y]

Ultimately the success or failure of Bitcoin will be the success or failure to get major retailers to take it, particularly online retailers.

Retailers are a bonus, but Bitcoin doesn't need them to succeed.  The remittances market alone is worth $300 Billion USD per year. Then there is: online gambling, bitcoin-as-a-financial-instrument, supply chain management, MMOGs, cloud storage, commercial Tor nodes, and many other uses we can't even imagine right now...

[AtlasONo]

If you really cared abut bitcoins you'd suggest your friends use their BTC rather than hoarding them.

[jashan]

If you can convince any of your friends to simply buy $50 USD worth of BTC... you will be doing yourself, themselves, and the entire world a HUGE favor!

Actually, the favor will be much greater when they consciously spend those Bitcoins on something they feel should be supported, something that is of real value to them. Just like with other kinds of money. The current speculation bubble might be very beneficial to Bitcoin - but it might also turn out to be extremely harmful. The question is: Are we currently seeing the value of Bitcoins rising because that's the value they really have (I do see that possibility), or are we seeing the value of Bitcoins rising because of hordes of greedy people? If the latter is the case, which I consider very likely, we'll see a bubble burst at some point in time, and a lot of people will be very unhappy and they will blame Bitcoins (instead of getting the simple message that the problem was their own greed).

When you see Bitcoins as a payment method - that's a really great thing, and an innovative thing, too. And a solution to major problems in the "money world" and "payment world" (which truly are two distinct worlds even if they do overlap). Bitcoins do have the potential to be a major game changer. Seriously.

On the other hand, when you see Bitcoins as a "get rich really quick"-scheme ... well, then Bitcoins will eventually go the same route that all "get rich really quick"-schemes go. A few people win, a lot of people lose; the scheme gets a really bad reputation ... and in the case of Bitcoins: A truly great idea is being killed by greed.

[TYPEcoin]

To get people involved and interested in bitcoin just let them take a look at the statistics and graphics of price change. It will encourage them more than any spoken story.

[almaerk08]

I think it is okay to introduce bitcoin to our friends and families. But the thing is we are not sure of the outcome after telling them about bitcoin. Some of them may be convinced and try to join. But some of them may also not be convinced because some people are not open-minded and they are just so scared to try.

[onnz423]

This is very true I have and will continue to suggest bitcoin to family members and friends. Recently due to the media (news and internet) spreading the word about bitcoin almost everyone knows about bitcoin. Now all we need to do as bitcoiners is to ensure they know about the advantages of bitcoin and how it will benefit them much more then fiat money. However, you'll find that it's almost impossible to convince somebody who doesn't care about technology to invest in cryptocurrency.

I dare you to try.

[Washball]

You can promote bitcoin to your friends and relatives, suggest them to buy. But in the western world as well in most parts of the world bitcoin already has a name. If people want to invest in Bitcoin, they do not need any encouragement. Most people have heard about Bitcoin, if they are interested they probably already have invested. If not, then they don't want to invest in cryptocurrencies.

[kalstarzz]

your way is very precise, but contrary to my way, I more advise my loved ones to learn bitcoin. because it will be more helpful to them, so that when they have bitcoin assets they are not confused to move.

[Jcag07]

We can give our opinion but our friend can only decide what will his or her decision. Bitcoin helps with this because it allows people to sell their skills in situations that would be impossible or unprofitable in other currencies which means they can increase their personal economic output

[elygil2022]

Bitcoin is not for everyone. No matter how much you care about your family and friends, some people are just not into this cryptocurrency thing. Me? I gift them with bitcoins. Not much, just a tiny little fraction, but it’s the thought that counts.