Aren't we the reason why BTC is becoming too much centralized?

[Gyfts]

I fully understand you in your thinking, and I agree that more and more BTC increasingly becoming the property of wealthy individuals, and thus centralizing and in some way becoming inaccessible to ordinary people. From the publicly released data of all companies and funds that have invested in Bitcoin so far, they currently hold just over 8% of the max supply - but I believe that is much more considering there are a lot of investments that are not public.

Yet the market is completely open, anyone can buy and sell BTC whenever and however much they want - and I have said so many times that ordinary people have 10+ years to invest in BTC, who to blame for not doing that? Satoshi has given everyone an equal opportunity, those who are poor and have only a few $ in their pocket, to those who have billions - now only those who are a little richer can afford 1 BTC - but that is the price of progress and adaptation.

I think it was a property of the wealth in the past, and was, kinda, in recent times but with USD and other currencies beginning to crash, expect more and more of the middle class/averaging working man to start picking up on BTC, either as a long term investment or something they expect to use often. The poor can't afford the price swings like the rich can, but the middle class is usually a bit more resistant.

[Similificator]

Panic selling has been around in this industry ever since I can remember. And this does not apply only on new comers as what many people may say. Obviously most does this but there are some that actually know what they are doing or some that are invested on good insider groups. To clarify, even veterans sometimes sell out of panic depending on the situation and the type of fud being spread out. These cycle of events happen always and will do so for many years to come since it mostly is a great contributor in making this industry thrive. Better enjoy the volatility instead of hating on it which would do no one any good.

Now about the centralization, I do not think that big institutions alone can make bitcoin widely centralized since these big institutions themselves like to keep some things secret specially things that bring lots of benefits. Although centralization seems like a nightmare to any bitcoin enthusiast, sooner or later something just has got to give. And that obviously will be bitcoin since centralization is such a vital thing if we are to really make bitcoin get adopted fully world wide. But of course that won't mean it will be fully centralized since I do not think most crypto enthusiasts will agree to it. Specially now that more and more big names are intertwined with bitcoin. Anyway, only time will tell. We may not even be able to live long enough to see this happening for real. But just in case, there's still coins like monero, sovryn and more. So don't go stressing your self too much about this.

[Stedsm]

I think it was a property of the wealth in the past, and was, kinda, in recent times but with USD and other currencies beginning to crash, expect more and more of the middle class/averaging working man to start picking up on BTC, either as a long term investment or something they expect to use often. The poor can't afford the price swings like the rich can, but the middle class is usually a bit more resistant.

A middle class would never go for hodling option TBH because they look for quick gains rather than long holds as they have a family they need to look after while also maintaining that "upper middle class" image in the society. Such people can't afford to buy 1 full BTC ATM because of its price of course, but they won't even buy a fraction of it after watching too many negativity spread in the markets as well as quick selloffs if they're new to this. They will fear of losing some % of their capital and then would need to redeem their fiat in loss.

[crzy]

I think it was a property of the wealth in the past, and was, kinda, in recent times but with USD and other currencies beginning to crash, expect more and more of the middle class/averaging working man to start picking up on BTC, either as a long term investment or something they expect to use often. The poor can't afford the price swings like the rich can, but the middle class is usually a bit more resistant.

A middle class would never go for hodling option TBH because they look for quick gains rather than long holds as they have a family they need to look after while also maintaining that "upper middle class" image in the society. Such people can't afford to buy 1 full BTC ATM because of its price of course, but they won't even buy a fraction of it after watching too many negativity spread in the markets as well as quick selloffs if they're new to this. They will fear of losing some % of their capital and then would need to redeem their fiat in loss.

I'm on a middle class and I understand the value of holding which I did since the last bull run, holding is not easy but if you are dedicated enough and know your goals for long term, that holdings can be easy for you. Don't blame yourself for the market being more centralized, you are just a small time player who always follow the trend and the whales, that's normal and we can't prevent this one. Government intervention are also growing, so we can expect a more centralized market especially when regulations take place.

[Russlenat]

Probably you are correct because we easily panic, that's the reason why the market can easily be manipulated by the whales. As of now, there's still not big improvement, crypto market is still a speculative market, we move on hype and FUD and that makes the price so volatile which makes it risky to invest.

However, since most of us want instant return, and it's possible in crypto, newbies are just too attracted to that reality, making them invest in a bull market, or at a peak instead of waiting for the price to dip before they'll invest.

As a result, whenever the price move opposite to their expectation, they panic as their focus on short-term profit.

[DoublerHunter]

~snip~
However, since most of us want instant return, and it's possible in crypto, newbies are just too attracted to that reality, making them invest in a bull market, or at a peak instead of waiting for the price to dip before they'll invest.

^ This is true because most of the newcomers in BTC investment are looking for this, they want an instant profit and all they had to want is to earn in a short period of time. Just like invested now and gain profit in the next day, that is not how BTC investment work, you should need to wait for a perfect time for that. However, regarding the punic sell, most again are those newcomers, they are very prone to this because we know that all of their concerns are profit in a short term.

[Gyfts]

I think it was a property of the wealth in the past, and was, kinda, in recent times but with USD and other currencies beginning to crash, expect more and more of the middle class/averaging working man to start picking up on BTC, either as a long term investment or something they expect to use often. The poor can't afford the price swings like the rich can, but the middle class is usually a bit more resistant.

A middle class would never go for hodling option TBH because they look for quick gains rather than long holds as they have a family they need to look after while also maintaining that "upper middle class" image in the society. Such people can't afford to buy 1 full BTC ATM because of its price of course, but they won't even buy a fraction of it after watching too many negativity spread in the markets as well as quick selloffs if they're new to this. They will fear of losing some % of their capital and then would need to redeem their fiat in loss.

I think you're right to an extent, but perhaps in the future things will change. Like I said, I'm putting this in the perspective of USD going into the dirt, so people with money will look to put their net worth into something other than liquid cash. Middle class are a bit slower to diversify into other investments, but if they're forced to, I think they'll choose BTC over precious metals/stocks.

Thing that scares them is the volatility, but at some point USD becomes more unpredictable than crypto if you don't stop endless printing.

[CryptocurencyKing]

Well, you have a point @OP that, being influenced by institutions and whales to a great extent could form or make the system go into centralization with every individual,  the common man actually loosing his or her precious sats to institutions that could be monitored by the government. This already could be a failed scheme should we have the slightest government involvement as some sort of a strategy to actually get bitcoin away from the public. One thing I know fir sure about the government across tenors is that, they are never united. Each leader would want to be known for something unique and as such, wouldn't continue the plans and projects of the other instead, they abandon them and head for another.

Getting thy precious sats from the commo  man would be a very long and taking job to do and government can pass on this task from persons to persons, making it a failed endeavour already.

[AndySt]

~snip~
However, since most of us want instant return, and it's possible in crypto, newbies are just too attracted to that reality, making them invest in a bull market, or at a peak instead of waiting for the price to dip before they'll invest.

^ This is true because most of the newcomers in BTC investment are looking for this, they want an instant profit and all they had to want is to earn in a short period of time. Just like invested now and gain profit in the next day, that is not how BTC investment work, you should need to wait for a perfect time for that. However, regarding the punic sell, most again are those newcomers, they are very prone to this because we know that all of their concerns are profit in a short term.

On the one hand, it is easy, on the other hand, it is difficult to accuse newcomers that they want a quick and easy profit, because every investor would like a quick and easy profit. Another question is that the accumulated experience teaches that such a thing is rarely available and it is experience that allows you to avoid large losses from unsuccessful investments. But do not blame everything only for beginners, because panic sales are inherent in all markets with high risk, and the cryptocurrency market is included in this category, and if at first everything starts with profit-taking, then all this can end with sales in an effort to save at least part of the investment.

[In the silence]

Centralization will always exploit decentralization, where there is control, there is power for those selfish people that want to rule something or anything.

[TheGreatPython]

I know I've used the "panic sell" so many times, but have you, for God's sake, ever imagined with a cool mind that whenever we panic sell during shakeouts in the markets, we are actually giving away our BTC to those big institutions who are willing to snatch it away from us, yeah I mean it, every single drop of BTC seems to be taken away from us and it'll be no longer an average guy's BTC which was Satoshi's vision (don't pull me on this, understand the emotions). So if it goes into the hands of these institutions and governments completely, where will we stand? Nowhere. Why don't we understand that it's all more of an intrigue well thought out to wipe out every single BTC hodler (even the smallest one out there) and take away the control from the hands of common people whom Satoshi Nakamoto left BTC with.

It’s everywhere and you can’t stop it. It is a normal thing that happens in every market, there are things that can happen and it will lead to the market either falling or going up, it’s just as it is and you can’t change it. Although I don’t think that’s a reason why the market would be either centralized or decentralized. And as for the big institutions, well that’s another thing, and I am aware that they have all been buying up  a lot of coins in the market. But, you also have to know that none of them would be ready to hold it forever.

There will still come a time when they will have to dump it ,and it will be retailers that will end up buying and it will still circulate. If they don’t, well, everyone is simply going to abandon it for them , there are already lots of other coins that people can invest in.

[bryant.coleman]

Bitcoin is more decentralized when compared to any other cryptocurrency and there is nothing to worry about the centralization right now. A lot of the critics point to the fact that major mining pools such as F2pool, Antpool and ViaBTC control a large share of the mining hash rate. But what they ignore is the fact that not a single individual mining farm accounts to more than 3% of the total hash rate. And the miners can leave or join the mining pools as per their preference. So the stats for major pools are not very significant.

[lienfaye]

Its true that many investors are easily affected of negative news, influencers and FUD. They have a weak hands, probably lacking of informations on how things work on crypto.

Majority of panic sellers are new on crypto or plan to hold only for short term thus seeing the market in a situation they didnt expect lead them to sell at loss.

Thats why its a must to know what you're getting into to have your own understanding and decision. Negative news are quite normal, they just come and go but its up to us how to handle it.

[swiftbits]

Most of these investors found out about Bitcoin from a claim that it would give them profit. They don't have enough knowledge about how the community works. It really possible that these big influential personalities could control their decisions.

[Kakmakr]

Who says it is only the institutional sector that are buying these coins and not millions of other individuals that are buying, when the price goes down to affordable levels? I know most of my friends and family are buying the dip and none of them form any part of some large institutional organization. 

The "Dip" is necessary to flush out all the speculators from the Bitcoin scene, because these people are the people that are "trigger happy" when the price goes down and the first people who are selling. True believers in the technology and the future of Bitcoin will hoard and buy more coins on the Dip and use a small percentage of their coins for eCommerce.   

                                                          (Support Bitcoin as a Currency... not a Commodity)

[maju69]

It's pretty difficult to convince a newcomer investor not to panic sell when the media is highlighting one negative news about Bitcoin or the other cause they prolly expect a crash to follow suit, and then again, apart from 'panic selling', people sell for other more personal reasons, thus I don't think everything is falling into the 'big' hands of institutional investors.

FUD comes from them, and profits go back to them. institutions will make big profits. and panic is only felt by us as victims. can't control the panic. because FUD is a strategy that directly affects the mentality of investors and traders. FUD that we know today, came from the hands of high-ranking officials who wanted to try to dominate the sector of the Bitcoin price rate. Simply put, when tweets start spreading on social media, everyone panics. and when all have sold, the big institutions come in to replace their roles as big buyers.

[Silberman]

You're so damn right! People go on and on about how Musk or other public figures manipulate the price of Bitcoin, but it would've never happened if people weren't so damn stupid and didn't swallow the bait. The human factor, emotions - this is the thing that makes, let's call it pseudo-centralization. Yes, there's no third party involved in price regulation, but people think the same, act similarly, that's why we are in this kind of situation today.
Hopefully, soon people will become more familiar with cryptocurrencies and won't make the same old mistakes.

This is unlikely, people do not learn their lessons as they do not know why they are behaving in the way they do, this is why manipulation is so effective, it gets the target to do what you want without them realizing it this is the case, so even if people eventually learn to not follow Elon another one like him will appear and people are going to fall into this trap once again, only those that are able to see on their own the fact that they are being manipulated will eventually learn how to defend themselves by holding their coins and not listening to what people like Elon have to say.

[worle1bm]

It's not the whole market who reacts blindly on the signals of these influencers or panic sell towards these FUD rather these newbies who have Just entered this market in the hype of cryptocurrencies get emotional attached to their coins and suffer loss.So all they are making btc move in a centralised way because most of the true btc enthusiast who have technical knowledge are still holding and ignore any such advice from these Musk type of people and enjoys their own freedom.So in the long run btc will potray true decentralisation nature because you can't control it being a government also.

[SquallLeonhart]

You're so damn right! People go on and on about how Musk or other public figures manipulate the price of Bitcoin, but it would've never happened if people weren't so damn stupid and didn't swallow the bait. The human factor, emotions - this is the thing that makes, let's call it pseudo-centralization. Yes, there's no third party involved in price regulation, but people think the same, act similarly, that's why we are in this kind of situation today.
Hopefully, soon people will become more familiar with cryptocurrencies and won't make the same old mistakes.

This is unlikely, people do not learn their lessons as they do not know why they are behaving in the way they do, this is why manipulation is so effective, it gets the target to do what you want without them realizing it this is the case, so even if people eventually learn to not follow Elon another one like him will appear and people are going to fall into this trap once again, only those that are able to see on their own the fact that they are being manipulated will eventually learn how to defend themselves by holding their coins and not listening to what people like Elon have to say.

The hard part is to make people realize they are doing a mistake, that is why we are not doing so great right now, if there was a chance that we could show people how they are doing a mistake and make them realize it, then they could recover and learn the correct way very easily, no human is too stupid to get away from manipulation after they realize they are manipulated but it is not easy to actually convince them the fact that they are manipulated.

A friend of mine who studies psychology explained it to me as "it is hard to realize you are manipulated because you deny it yourself, agreeing to fact that you are manipulated would mean you were tricked and nobody wants the fact that they are manipulated to be true so they deny it" and that sounds reasonable, if you tell someone that Elon manipulates them, and they agree, that means they agree to the fact that they are manipulated by someone else and that makes them feel bad.

[GeorgeJohn]

Bitcoin is not decentralized anymore. There are few people manipulating the market which isn't good for small investors. If things are continue to go like this then soon it will be a currency of rich people only and it will affect small investors very badly. Stop selling your coins no matter what.

Irrespective the challenges that's always face cryptocurrency through government and the one that comes from Elon musk, cryptocurrency is still decentralized currency, people selling their bitcoin due to a tweet of Elon does not indicate or grant us to say that bitcoin centralized, we are not even hundred (100%) sure that while people sell their crypto is because of elon tweet, so in this aspect we have to different decentralized and centralized via Bitcoin, no controls cryptocurrency which made it to decentralized while centralized is controlled by a sector. So in summary bitcoin is still decentralized currency.