Why people are scared to use their crypto?

[DigitalFox]

It's really funny to watch people talk about BTC and other cryptocurrencies  bringing them financial freedom, ease of payments, mass adoption blah blah and at the same time the very same people freak out when they have to (or asked to) make a payment in crypto. Especially payments for overseas transactions.

If anyone wants to screw you with bank transfer - they will. And if they don't - your bank will screw you with fees and exchange rates.
If anyone wants to screw you with and king of digital payment (Paypal etc) - they will.
If anyone wants to screw you with cash payment - they will (well, putting a gun to your head is a bit less convenient that using a computer, but there are still people out there that will do it).
Crypto is no different.

And don't tell me that bank transfers/Paypal etc are "secure". Yes, you might get your money back if something goes wrong. But regardless of what they tell you to justify their outrageous fees refund process can take months and months and there's no real guarantee, while bad guys have already cashed your payment and are enjoying themselves.
 

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It's really funny to watch people talk about BTC and other cryptocurrencies  bringing them financial freedom, ease of payments, mass adoption blah blah and at the same time the very same people freak out when they have to (or asked to) make a payment in crypto. Especially payments for overseas transactions.

If anyone wants to screw you with bank transfer - they will. And if they don't - your bank will screw you with fees and exchange rates.
If anyone wants to screw you with and king of digital payment (Paypal etc) - they will.
If anyone wants to screw you with cash payment - they will (well, putting a gun to your head is a bit less convenient that using a computer, but there are still people out there that will do it).
Crypto is no different.

And don't tell me that bank transfers/Paypal etc are "secure". Yes, you might get your money back if something goes wrong. But regardless of what they tell you to justify their outrageous fees refund process can take months and months and there's no real guarantee, while bad guys have already cashed your payment and are enjoying themselves.
 

"What if?!"
If anyone screws your PayPal account, you will go and complain to PP, they can track funds and probably you will get yours back.
The same thing can be in case If anyone screws you with bank transfer, you can ask from bank to stop this transfer.

If anyone gets your private key from a crypto wallet, you only can complain here or in similar places, but your funds are gone. You will never get it back.
One of the disadvantages of Financial freedom and a decentralised system that there is no one who could manage in such situations.

[Pmalek]

Are you criticizing the traditional financial system or its decentralized rival Bitcoin, or both? Seems to me like you are criticizing everything.
It's not the payment method that makes an overseas transaction dangerous, it's the people involved in it. The only thing that counts is how trustworthy they are.  

Crypto is different from the banking system because all transactions are final and irreversible. When you say you might get your money back from the bank, that feature is not available in Bitcoin. That's why you need to think hard before you do something, and that's why it's not surprising that people are tense when they need to pay with bitcoin. I don't know you and have no reason to trust you, and vice versa.

In contrast to the services banks offer, no one knows who you are dealing with and what you are buying when you use bitcoin. Transactions involve only strings of letters and numbers, no names or identities. The sender decides how he spends his money and how much he is willing to pay to get his transaction confirmed. With banks, they decide how much you pay and how long it takes for the transaction to be considered final.  

[NeuroticFish]

It's really funny to watch people talk about BTC and other cryptocurrencies  bringing them financial freedom, ease of payments, mass adoption blah blah and at the same time the very same people freak out when they have to (or asked to) make a payment in crypto. Especially payments for overseas transactions.

The problem is that most people either invest and HOLD, either work for bitcoin and HODL, either trade.
The number of those actually spending bitcoin is rather small and a big chunk may be the employers of those working for bitcoin, for the reasons I mentioned and also because there aren't that many places one can spend bitcoin and most of those places may overcharge (at least it was the case in my country last time I tried).
I expect most of those "employers" already passed the "freaked out" barrier, hence the number of people you're talking about has became tiny.

So it's not that much about freaking out, although I expect that too happen, since many came for bitcoin to make them rich, not because they're technical. And people are in a hurry, they want to use, not to learn first.
Also most people that use bitcoin still use improper wallets and don't understand what happens behind the curtains, hence they're scared and prone to errors. Bitcoin is not an easy concept and the wallets don't make it easier either.
And these will more likely try to just send some small amounts from or to exchanges...
But again, imho the problem is not so wide spread as one could understand from your post...
And it's normal a percentage of the users be like that. My mom freaks out when she should use her Visa card (yeah, she's old and even using the smartphone is quite a challenge)

[BlackHatCoiner]

mass adoption blah blah and at the same time the very same people freak out when they have to (or asked to) make a payment in crypto. Especially payments for overseas transactions.

People freak out if there's no one that will guarantee for the success of the exchange. I think that's what you're criticizing, the absence of the third party, and you're not wrong to a certain extent. The fact that PayPal provides you this belief that you may get your money back, makes you feel safe.

Paying the seller directly using crypto means that you're trusting him/her. It doesn't differ much from meeting up face-to-face and doing the exchange hand in hand. There are also no guarantees in that case. Someone on my local board got stolen (€1340) on their meeting. The seller literally took the cash and started running on the street!

That's why escrows exist.

[TheNineClub]

Well first of all I would think that people freak out because cryptocurrencies are so volatile so from the get-go they are a bit dismissive to the whole idea of doing anything with crypto. When we put that aside, the next thing has to be security. Even tho we live in an age where online transactions of money and goods have reached a fairly safe place, the notion of the wild west of the internet days still lingeres in peoples minds and even tho security does not differ that much from crypto to let's say, the bank, it's still something that people can't get out of their heads and it will take time to reeducate them on it.

[Oshosondy]

...

I have not been ever scared before to use crypto, it is safe to use but not to just send to wrong address and try all possible ways to avoid scammers and hackers. Cryptocurrencies are not fiat because you have the full responsibility over your money while dealing with cryptocurrencies that are decentralized, this will require you to know how to protect your money. For easy of use, I prefer cryptocurrencies due to the good reasons you listed up there, fiat fee can be too much at times while cryptocurrencies are alternatives but with easy and low fee.

[pawanjain]

If anyone screws your PayPal account, you will go and complain to PP, they can track funds and probably you will get yours back.
The same thing can be in case If anyone screws you with bank transfer, you can ask from bank to stop this transfer.

The cops and cyber crime won't even care if the amount of money lost is below their threshold.
It has to be huge amount of money involved only then there are chances of recovering the amount.
Even then, they won't guarantee to refund the whole amount. Most times it's just 50% - 75% of the amount is recovered.

But yeah once money is gone in crypto, it's gone and that's one disadvantage of being your own bank 

[Rikafip]

I honestly don't know with with kind of people you interact, but the ones I know  that are talking about financial freedom etc are not scared to pay something using crypto, and are perfectly aware of all the risks  of not having safety net when you are sending crypto to someone.

Someone on my local board got stolen (€1340) on their meeting. The seller literally took the cash and started running on the street!

Damn that's crazy. What happened in the end, did they manage to catch the thief?

[Upgrade00]

the very same people freak out when they have to (or asked to) make a payment in crypto. Especially payments for overseas transactions.

Do you have any source to back up this claim, in my knowledge, cryptocurrency users are always excited to spend their bitcoin, if they have spare from the ones they aim to hold for a long period of time.
And when you talk of overseas transactions, there is no such thing as local or foreign exchange when it comes to Bitcoin transactions as the network is borderless and decentralized.

[DigitalFox]

"What if?!"
If anyone screws your PayPal account, you will go and complain to PP, they can track funds and probably you will get yours back.
The same thing can be in case If anyone screws you with bank transfer, you can ask from bank to stop this transfer.

If anyone gets your private key from a crypto wallet, you only can complain here or in similar places, but your funds are gone. You will never get it back.
One of the disadvantages of Financial freedom and a decentralised system that there is no one who could manage in such situations.

It's not account/keys theft I'm talking about, just simple transactions - paying for things etc. But yes, the example you gave is similar.

[DigitalFox]

Are you criticizing the traditional financial system or its decentralized rival Bitcoin, or both? Seems to me like you are criticizing everything.
It's not the payment method that makes an overseas transaction dangerous, it's the people involved in it. The only thing that counts is how trustworthy they are.  

Crypto is different from the banking system because all transactions are final and irreversible. When you say you might get your money back from the bank, that feature is not available in Bitcoin. That's why you need to think hard before you do something, and that's why it's not surprising that people are tense when they need to pay with bitcoin. I don't know you and have no reason to trust you, and vice versa.

In contrast to the services banks offer, no one knows who you are dealing with and what you are buying when you use bitcoin. Transactions involve only strings of letters and numbers, no names or identities. The sender decides how he spends his money and how much he is willing to pay to get his transaction confirmed. With banks, they decide how much you pay and how long it takes for the transaction to be considered final.  

I'm not criticizing either Pmalek, I'm rather comparing both while talking about general people's behavior and habits.

You deal with people you don't know constantly. Online shops, selling boards etc etc. Do you know that guy you're buying from on Aliexpress? I doubt it A friend of mine is in boat trading and he sells yachts to buyers from all over the world without ever meeting them, I was surprised when he told me about 15% of his customers were happy to use btc for purchase. That's the thing I'm talking about, IMHO these percentages should be way higher.

The problem is that most people either invest and HOLD, either work for bitcoin and HODL, either trade.
The number of those actually spending bitcoin is rather small and a big chunk may be the employers of those working for bitcoin, for the reasons I mentioned and also because there aren't that many places one can spend bitcoin and most of those places may overcharge (at least it was the case in my country last time I tried).
I expect most of those "employers" already passed the "freaked out" barrier, hence the number of people you're talking about has became tiny.

Yes, that's the thing. Pure and simple: Most people don't consider crypto as a payment system, but just a financial investment, which really surprises me, as it's really the fastest way to close deals, especially cross-currency ones. Since I got into this scene few years ago I always considered crypto as the best payment system as I sell and buy lots of stuff all over the world, there's nothing more convenient.

[NeuroticFish]

Pure and simple: Most people don't consider crypto as a payment system, but just a financial investment, which really surprises me, as it's really the fastest way to close deals, especially cross-currency ones.

The problem is that although you're right, it's super easy to pay or get paid in crypto, at the end of the day most people pay for the food, rent, hobbies or taxes with fiat currency  , mostly because crypto is not directly accepted (since the shops also have to pay the suppliers and the taxes in fiat).
I think that - as strange as it sounds - the crypto cards be the solution for this matter, when they'll become much more popular, allowing people easily spend the crypto they earn. And then, one will be able to send either crypto or fiat to the card related wallet or account and the recipient will be able to spend as he prefers.

[AniviaBtc]

Maybe because they don't know how to use it or maybe they are having a hard time to control their cryptos and scared to make transactions.

Being ignorant about the utilization of your cryptocurrencies are really hard to deal with especially that you don't have any idea how it works.

Some companies already adopted bitcoin in their system and platform and that makes you have an idea  on where we can use bitcoin or other crypto.

[DigitalFox]

The problem is that although you're right, it's super easy to pay or get paid in crypto, at the end of the day most people pay for the food, rent, hobbies or taxes with fiat currency  , mostly because crypto is not directly accepted (since the shops also have to pay the suppliers and the taxes in fiat).
I think that - as strange as it sounds - the crypto cards be the solution for this matter, when they'll become much more popular, allowing people easily spend the crypto they earn. And then, one will be able to send either crypto or fiat to the card related wallet or account and the recipient will be able to spend as he prefers.

Well I wasn't talking about day to day expenses which are obviously easier to conduct in cash/fiat. But when you want to buy something from another country things can get overly complicated and consume a lot of time  just to complete the payment. Not to mention situations where 3 or more currencies are involved.

[alatvian2]

Very much agree, but I do think that this context no longer exists in bitcoin because the fees have grown so large.  

And this was all according to plan, and I don't see anything wrong with it either.  Bitcoin is the gold, litecoin is the silver, while something else will become the medium of exchange used for day-to-day transactions.  Thus far, that hasn't really materialized yet.  For a while, things like gyft was _almost_ making it possible to use bitcoin in real world transactions, but they have gone by the wayside.  I wait for the day when something like that for a more reasonable crypto network will come back.

[hulla]

It's really funny to watch people talk about BTC and other cryptocurrencies  bringing them financial freedom, ease of payments, mass adoption blah blah and at the same time the very same people freak out when they have to (or asked to) make a payment in crypto. Especially payments for overseas transactions.

This is not funny for there are different people with different understanding about Bitcoin but it not new that 96% of everyone in crypto investment are into it for the profit involved which I believe was what causes the reluctance of those people in using Bitcoin as payment.

Meanwhile, there are some crypto enthusiasts which have already fall in love with the technology these kinds of people usually find it hard to payment in crypto because they always choose to hold their coin.

They are not scared.

[yat97]

Could be they're afraid of the IRS and taxes... o_o

[Rengga Jati]

-snip-

Is this just if only or really happened in a country?
Then I also answer it with yours.
So far, people in the world of Crypto are not so caring or afraid of things, especially those who have long been working in the world of Crypto. Of course, it's not easy to get a negative issue related to Crypto. "
Things that often become obstacles are usually related to strict regulations against cryptocurrency. As with a hard prohibition for every citizen not to use Cryptocurrency. But lately, cryptocurrency is one of the favorites that are popular among ordinary Roang, celebrities, public figures, influencers, government, and so on.

[NeuroticFish]

Well I wasn't talking about day to day expenses which are obviously easier to conduct in cash/fiat. But when you want to buy something from another country things can get overly complicated and consume a lot of time  just to complete the payment. Not to mention situations where 3 or more currencies are involved.

I don't know, if I buy from other countries with card, the bank does all that for me and I don't have to care. Indeed, some want bank transfers, which are a tad more complicated.
Now back to crypto: if one insists to be paid in a certain currency, he may also not accept easily to be paid in crypto or may even freak out. But it's not a common case for payments. I could say that it's a subset of a niche. And he would also freak out if you send anything different than his home currency, I think.
So no. Crypto is indeed easy to use, but humanity is not ready for it yet. Banking system has an advance of over 600 years and crypto will become easier and more common, just it needs more time and we need to be patient and inventive.