My Favorite Misconceptions About Bitcoin

[Lucius]

1. You can only buy whole bitcoins.

One of the most common misconceptions, but also an excuse why someone has never bought Bitcoin - because if they can't have 1 BTC, they don't want to have 0.01 or some similar amount.

2. It's a ponzi scheme/ tulip bubble/ some other kind of scam or shenanigans.

Bitcoin is unfortunately largely a victim of all those online scams that have happened in the past, so for some people everything on the internet is a scam in one way or another. Those who think this way have never even bothered to see the difference between Bitcoin and some Ponzi/MLM scheme.

3. I would love to buy some Bitcoin, but (whatever the current price is) is just too expensive for magic internet money. This one I think is due to people feeling like they missed out at being an early adopter.

I think this has something to do with what was described in the first case, because there is not much logic if someone says that 1 BTC is expensive for him, and when you explain to him that he can buy an amount worth $20 or even less, then it all boils down to the fact that such small amounts do not have sense. Being jealous of those who knew about Bitcoin in the first years of its existence is completely stupid, because Bitcoin was not a closely guarded secret, anyone could be among the early adopters.

What are your favorites?

Bitcoin is destroying planet Earth and we will all be left in the dark because of POW + it is only used by criminals and drug dealers, and of course the ever-present terrorists.

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[JohnBitCo]

2. It's a ponzi scheme/ tulip bubble/ some other kind of scam or shenanigans.

This is one of the most common replies you will get when you tell someone about bitcoins and he do not know about the bitcoin and crypto. He might have got the wrong knowledge from others that bitcoin is fake and ponzi and this is feed in his mind and he never cares to research about it himself.

[bitbollo]

My misconceptions abut bitcoin (some years ago) was related the nature of this creation.
I mean, I was already focused in project like liberty-reserve or e-gold (all shut down and people arrested...) and I was thinking that bitcoin was just another form of such kind of payment provider.
After I have read the white paper I have understood the deeply difference in what was realized in the past and how bitcoin was something able to "survive" as a digital form of payment.

The list of 3 misconceptions in open post is one of the typical I heard about people speaking about bitcoin.
Each time I ask to people "what you really know about bitcoin"? It's pretty clear they don't know anything unless their opinion based on "nothing"!

[Solosanz]

My favorite misconceptions are:
1. Bitcoin mining is full of wasting energy and generate a lot carbon emissions, while the truth isn't and actually banks are wasting energy and generate carbon emissions multiple times than Bitcoin.

2. Binance is the most safest wallet because they have SAFU and can recover your money. Even though the last hacked event where Binance can refund the whole coins that has been stolen by a hacker, but there's no guarantee if they can refund it when the hacker can stole all of their money in the future.

3. Bitcoin price is manipulated. It's partly true if the whales are bought a big amount Bitcoin, but they're not actually controlling 100% of the market since there's many people who still own Bitcoin.

[Fesatmas]

2. It's a ponzi scheme/ tulip bubble/ some other kind of scam or shenanigans.

This is one of the most common replies you will get when you tell someone about bitcoins and he do not know about the bitcoin and crypto. He might have got the wrong knowledge from others that bitcoin is fake and ponzi and this is feed in his mind and he never cares to research about it himself.

This kind of thing will always exist, because several news stations are engineered for it. They already have a scheme to spread such fear, and those who read it will believe what they preach. But if we show and point out that it's all bullshit I think they will understand better, although there are definitely people who stand by their point of view. We don't need to think about such things, because of their own natural loss.

[kryptqnick]

I'm happy the op is so casual about these misconceptions and finds them silly, can even name favourites. I've heard of Bitcoin being a financial pyramid (so, #2) from a relative, but it's not the kind of relative who can be convinced by any arguments, really, so I was irritated that he maintained this position.
In general, I like the misconceptions people have about fiat and banks more. Like how many assume fiat is backed up by something that gives it value, or how most think that the money they have in their bank accounts is actually theirs and is actually there.

[taufik123]

I'm happy the op is so casual about these misconceptions and finds them silly, can even name favourites. I've heard of Bitcoin being a financial pyramid (so, #2) from a relative, but it's not the kind of relative who can be convinced by any arguments, really, so I was irritated that he maintained this position.
In general, I like the misconceptions people have about fiat and banks more. Like how many assume fiat is backed up by something that gives it value, or how most think that the money they have in their bank accounts is actually theirs and is actually there.

I also often come across them, they say bitcoin as a pyramid scheme because fraudsters use bitcoin as the main tool to deceive others using pyramid or Ponzi schemes. and this becomes the mindset that continues to stick to them that bitcoin is the main actor and is the center of the pyramid scheme. these kinds of projects that say they are future crypto projects, but in fact they are only exploiting the ignorance of new users in the investment world or in the crypto world, many are trapped and bankrupt due to pyramid scheme investment scams.

As a new user, you have to look for information in many references so you are not easily fooled by fraudulent investments.

[Davidvictorson]

This reminds me of conversation I had with someone a few days ago. Apparently, his own misconception about bitcoin is that he will get paid at the end of  28 - 30days if he buys some bitcoins. He just wants to buy $15 worth and then hopes that it doubles to $30 once he holds it for 28 -30days. He said he got his information from a Bitcoin Telegram group he joined and that there are people who are sharing their testimonies about it on the group.

[TimeTeller]

This reminds me of conversation I had with someone a few days ago. Apparently, his own misconception about bitcoin is that he will get paid at the end of  28 - 30days if he buys some bitcoins. He just wants to buy $15 worth and then hopes that it doubles to $30 once he holds it for 28 -30days. He said he got his information from a Bitcoin Telegram group he joined and that there are people who are sharing their testimonies about it on the group.

There are indeed sites promising that kind of return after few days of holding.
But later on, they will realize that this platform is more on the scam side.
How can they give you such good ROI, where will they get it? This is why it falls to a ponzi scheme.
But people are being deceived by such offer. They will get their share for the first few days, but later on, the site will start giving reasons why they can't receive anymore.
People who are giving testimonies are only after to attract more naive buyers so they can continue to get their share.

[Gallar]

I started investing in 2020, when I only thought about what crypto could make me rich quick,

I am also looking for crypto that is very cheap, because in my mind at that time,
"This crypto is very cheap, it's less than 2 dollars if it goes up to 10 - 20 dollars I can make a profit"

I bought it crypto,
but the price has gone down
and makes me wonder, why is it like that,

then here I ask my senior who has been in the crypto world for a long time about what crypto is good for investment, "try it in bitcoin"

from here i started investing in bitcoin,
and it turns out that bitcoin is the best.

[Lucius]

~snip~

This is a good example of what most people don't understand when they try to understand some things about what Bitcoin actually is. Any group on a social network that has the name Bitcoin in it is considered something official, so many people think that there is a Bitcoin bank or that everyone called Satoshi has 1 million BTC that they will share with anyone who sends them their personal information.

People should really start thinking for themselves a little more, otherwise they voluntarily agree to live in a world of misconceptions that can often result in financial losses and great disappointment.

[Esther C]

Does this happen to anyone else? You're trying to explain to someone, perhaps a close relative, what crypto actually is? And they come up with all of these strange/sill ideas? These are my top 3, I would love to hear everyone else's.

1. You can only buy whole bitcoins. I guess this one makes sense, if you never knew anything about crypto. After all, one usually buys whole stocks and bonds, and whole other things. But I have had many conversations where the person says something like "yeah I would love to get bitcoin but I don't have (insert whatever the current price is).

2. It's a ponzi scheme/ tulip bubble/ some other kind of scam or shenanigans. I think this one comes straight from the msm. Even prominent financial news outlets regularly print erroneous, or purposely false and misleading information. But, if you actually know what crypto is, the idea that it is the same thing as a ponzi scheme or the tulip bubble is just silly. It's like the exact opposite of those things.

3. I would love to buy some Bitcoin, but (whatever the current price is) is just too expensive for magic internet money. This one I think is due to people feeling like they missed out at being an early adopter. These are the types that tend to say things like "gee I wish I had bought amazon when it was a few pennies a share". But whatever the current price, it's too much. It could literally be $5 a Bitcoin and they would say it was too much. I get it, they don't really understand what crypto is, but it's still a bit silly if you ask me.

What are your favorites?

I think I was guilty of the first misconception. It's also not hard to see why people think like that. Bitcoin is costly as it stands, we generally feel like we missed out and have no hope.

[Darker45]

I'm not sure if I already read this somewhere but it seems familiar.

Anyway, perhaps the most widespread misconception about Bitcoin isn't even on the list, and it is that Bitcoin is a way to get rich. While it is indeed possible that Bitcoin would rise in fiat price, it isn't a vehicle to get rich. This is a misconception that has actually brought a lot of Bitcoin supporters. And this misconception is strengthened or reinforced because the price has indeed multiplied thousands of times. But it doesn't mean Bitcoin is a get-rich pill. It simply isn't.

[pawanjain]

For me it goes like I explain them about bitcoin and then they buy bitcoin. But soon after that, lets say after a few months they keep saying that it didn't increase much.
Mostly its because it has been falling for the last few months but I had already told them to invest only for the long term.
Yet they keep complaining about the price keeping on dropping every month. They don't listen when I say them that I told you to invest for a long term.
So forget about the price for next 3 years.

[adzino]

Does this happen to anyone else? You're trying to explain to someone, perhaps a close relative, what crypto actually is? And they come up with all of these strange/sill ideas? These are my top 3, I would love to hear everyone else's.

1. You can only buy whole bitcoins. I guess this one makes sense, if you never knew anything about crypto. After all, one usually buys whole stocks and bonds, and whole other things. But I have had many conversations where the person says something like "yeah I would love to get bitcoin but I don't have (insert whatever the current price is).

2. It's a ponzi scheme/ tulip bubble/ some other kind of scam or shenanigans. I think this one comes straight from the msm. Even prominent financial news outlets regularly print erroneous, or purposely false and misleading information. But, if you actually know what crypto is, the idea that it is the same thing as a ponzi scheme or the tulip bubble is just silly. It's like the exact opposite of those things.

3. I would love to buy some Bitcoin, but (whatever the current price is) is just too expensive for magic internet money. This one I think is due to people feeling like they missed out at being an early adopter. These are the types that tend to say things like "gee I wish I had bought amazon when it was a few pennies a share". But whatever the current price, it's too much. It could literally be $5 a Bitcoin and they would say it was too much. I get it, they don't really understand what crypto is, but it's still a bit silly if you ask me.

1. It's because most people thing that they "need" to own one whole bitcoin in order to make profit. It is something more psychological I guess. They don't realize that they can accumulate bitcoin over time and then eventually own a whole bitcoin.

2. Only those who don't know how bitcoin and the market works are going to call it a ponzi scheme. Also those who lost all their money for being greedy thinks they lost their money because bitcoin was a ponzi.

3. And then they keep on waiting for the price to drop which never happens. They end up crying and "hating" bitcoin even more.

[YOSHIE]

my misunderstanding regarding Bitcoin.
• I think Bitcoin is illegal, that's what I consider based on some of the rules I've read, but I misunderstood it it's only illegal for those who use it as a means of payment, but if Bitcoin is only for the use or possession of it, of course that's a different story.
• my other misunderstanding is anonymous, but not anonymous, the nature of the anonymity is visible at the beginning, the Blockchain used to make Bitcoin transactions, is public, people can see transactions.

[Beefcake]

I'm happy the op is so casual about these misconceptions and finds them silly, can even name favourites. I've heard of Bitcoin being a financial pyramid (so, #2) from a relative, but it's not the kind of relative who can be convinced by any arguments, really, so I was irritated that he maintained this position.
In general, I like the misconceptions people have about fiat and banks more. Like how many assume fiat is backed up by something that gives it value, or how most think that the money they have in their bank accounts is actually theirs and is actually there.

Or, how people think they need to "build credit" when they are young, and think the way to do this is to get into credit card debt, and pay ridiculous interest rates, and get caught in a cycle of bad debt.

[GreatArkansas]

2. It's a ponzi scheme/ tulip bubble/ some other kind of scam or shenanigans.
(....)

For me, this is the most common I encounter. Especially for those people who are non-techy. But even also on techy people who don't have an idea how Bitcoin works. First, their thoughts are, "Bitcoin is a money doubler", sometimes they ask, "How much is your capital", "How much minimum investment", etc.
Most people also thinking when you in Bitcoin or own some, you are rich already or making easy money.

[Fatunad]

2. It's a ponzi scheme/ tulip bubble/ some other kind of scam or shenanigans.
(....)

For me, this is the most common I encounter. Especially for those people who are non-techy. But even also on techy people who don't have an idea how Bitcoin works. First, their thoughts are, "Bitcoin is a money doubler", sometimes they ask, "How much is your capital", "How much minimum investment", etc.
Most people also thinking when you in Bitcoin or own some, you are rich already or making easy money.

Majority of people who had been able to learn up about crypto is that into those hyips and ponzi back in the past where it do offers huge income or returns on a short time basis and
i was one of those people who had known crypto due to this thing but eventually i do able to learn up something even more as i dig further when it comes to various things
and i do able to realize and learn up on whats the truth.This is something that you should work and learn for you to sustain and make money even though not on constant
but at least you are really that able to survive this unpredictable market.

[Pumared]

2. It's a ponzi scheme/ tulip bubble/ some other kind of scam or shenanigans.
(....)

For me, this is the most common I encounter. Especially for those people who are non-techy. But even also on techy people who don't have an idea how Bitcoin works. First, their thoughts are, "Bitcoin is a money doubler", sometimes they ask, "How much is your capital", "How much minimum investment", etc.
Most people also thinking when you in Bitcoin or own some, you are rich already or making easy money.

(...)

Really, many people started in crypto with these easy earning ways. And it filled with newbies wanting those gains. And in the end, the overall view of BTC was this easy win.