Spreading bitcoin awareness; Your personal security matters first

[EL MOHA]

I have found and read through numerous threads on the forum about the spreading of bitcoin awareness and adoption by many forum members. Two of the widely used methods from this threads that I have read are; Class room teachings and using bitcoin as a payment method for ones business. This is a great way to increase bitcoin adoption spread to others, but isn’t this done at the detriment of the advocate’s safety and privacy?

One of the main aim of bitcoin from its inception by satoshi is not just to protect our money but also to protect the user. Therefore by spreading bitcoin awareness in countries or communities that it’s government are against it, should be done cautiously. Because once the government decides to take strict actions against the users, some of the advocates that spread it publicly or use it in their businesses will easily be traced and could be convicted for breaking the law, and I don’t think even Satoshi will appreciate that.

I feel like bitcoin should be spread in these kind of communities secretly and cautiously to avoid exposing our privacy and hampering our security. It should only be thought to people that show interest and not going to schools to teach them because that is like breaking the laws of the community or country, and bitcoin or Satoshi himself is not have law breakers or criminals as it’s users or advocates just like how the media and government portrays it.

So before spreading bitcoin awareness, first of all take care of your own security First. If you can then leave the advocacy for that period. Bitcoin Uniqness will surely pave way for itself like it has been doing through the years.

[Fiatless]

So before spreading bitcoin awareness, first of all take care of your own security First. If you can then leave the advocacy for that period. Bitcoin Uniqness will surely pave way for itself like it has been doing through the years.

In some countries, if you tell people that you own bitcoin, they will think that you are rich. Such individuals might immediately be a soft target of criminals. As Op said, there is a need to uphold security and privacy. There is no need to engage in open bitcoin awareness in a country where the coin is banned. Some of these laws forbid not only the use of Bitcoin but the spread of information that promotes it. Engaging in bitcoin awareness in such an area is dangerous and could lead to severe punishment.

We are encouraged to engage in the promotion of bitcoin but it should be done considering the laws of the land. And bitcoin education is not by force but by choice. Bitcoin awareness and adoption will keep growing as the currency becomes more influential in the global financial system.

[cryptoaddictchie]

This is a great way to increase bitcoin adoption spread to others, but isn’t this done at the detriment of the advocate’s safety and privacy?

Of course the one who will share this must already been secured his safety and privacy in a sense that they knew about bitcoin wallet and how to protect it from scams and been stufied the private key and related security purposes.

Some have engage in bitcoin thru trading so likely they are people whom suggest a cex and thats normal since thats what they knew, they heard, they learn and etc. We cant really make it 100% uniform for everyone how they gonna spread bitcoin but since we are in forum we can explain to them what we knew and its up to them to understand and implement whats best for them.

At least we did our part.

[icalical]

I don't know where you live right now OP, but in my country owning Bitcoin is not a crime, it's currently legal to own a bitcoin here, as long as you don't use it as a currency. Centralize exchange are free to advertise their platform and to give proper education about bitcoin and crypto, so there is no need of secrecy to discuss bitcoin.

I wish anywhere you live, you will be able to discuss and buy Bitcoin freely very soon.

[Dunamisx]

Two of the widely used methods from this threads that I have read are; Class room teachings and using bitcoin as a payment method for ones business. This is a great way to increase bitcoin adoption spread to others, but isn’t this done at the detriment of the advocate’s safety and privacy?

How is teaching others matters to your bitcoin privacy, if you need to teach others then it's your own personal obligations to ensure that the environment you're using allows for that and the government does not kicked against bitcoin or cryptocurrency in that your country, you teach people or not, bitcoin is fast moving in adoption and cannot be stopped, not even the government, if you choose to let people know you're into bitcoin, that's your personal decision and that doesn't increase or reduce where bitcoin has gone to as at today, don't also accept bitcoin for your payment if your government banned it uses in your country, but if you completely understand how you can go private with bitcoin transaction then you can accept and don't make it public.

So before spreading bitcoin awareness, first of all take care of your own security First.

The security begins with the kind of wallet you used, it must be decentralized and not a centralized online wallet, we must not advertise ourselves for what we do when there's a regulation against it from the governing authorities, then we must know to take security measures very important without the intruding of a third party in knowing our security measures or keys.

[Plaguedeath]

Teaching Bitcoin to everyone isn't a crime! people who don't like Bitcoin can leave, no one force you to sit down until the teacher out. It's different if your country declare buy, sell and hold Bitcoin is a crime, anything connected with Bitcoin is crime, not only teach to other.

Although I always said privacy and security are very important, but it's up to each person. Bitcoin is an asset, one of your wealth. Publicity yourself if you have Bitcoin surely attract criminals, but there are many people don't care about it because they want to become popular and get paid by exposing their privacy.

[Lakai01]

I don't know where you live right now OP, but in my country owning Bitcoin is not a crime, it's currently legal to own a bitcoin here, as long as you don't use it as a currency.

Officially, Bitcoin is allowed as a legal tender only in the following countries:


Source

However, a large number of countries (e.g. here in Europe) support Bitcoin as an indirect means of payment via crypto-credit cards. For example, you load an account with a payment provider (Bitpanda, ...) with cryptos of your choice and receive a card with which you can officially pay - at least where credit cards are accepted. If you are interested, here you can find the description of the Bitpanda crypto card: https://www.bitpanda.com/en/card

-snip-
So before spreading bitcoin awareness, first of all take care of your own security First. If you can then leave the advocacy for that period. Bitcoin Uniqness will surely pave way for itself like it has been doing through the years.

I think this really only applies to countries where the possession of Bitcoin is officially prohibited. In these countries, however, any (technical) adaptation of (blockchain) services will probably be banned immediately. I am afraid that in the countries concerned, the legislative possibility must first be created in order to be able to think about an adaptation of cryptocurrencies in the broad mass.

[UchihaSarada]

Class room teachings and using bitcoin as a payment method for ones business. This is a great way to increase bitcoin adoption spread to others, but isn’t this done at the detriment of the advocate’s safety and privacy?

If you want privacy, don't show your face in classrooms or stores to advertise Bitcoin and tell others that you are a Bitcoin investor. When you do it, you sacrifice your privacy to be a Bitcoin ambassador.

One of the main aim of bitcoin from its inception by satoshi is not just to protect our money but also to protect the user. Therefore by spreading bitcoin awareness in countries or communities that it’s government are against it, should be done cautiously. Because once the government decides to take strict actions against the users, some of the advocates that spread it publicly or use it in their businesses will easily be traced and could be convicted for breaking the law, and I don’t think even Satoshi will appreciate that.

If you are living in a country with such restrictions against Bitcoin. If you see risk to be in jail by such activities, don't do that. If in your country, there are grey areas that you can do without risk to be put into jail, you can do it but breaking laws is bad because you will not know how government will knock your doors and do any lawsuit or arrest against you.

Because a bigger influence you have in your country, you will be known more by governmental radars and they will know more about your activities. You will appear in their Watch List and they will always have chance to catch you.

[Jon_Hodl]

I totally agree that we should be quiet about how we spread bitcoin awareness but I also feel like we have a sort of responsibility in more developed nations where we enjoy higher levels of civil liberties to produce educational content to help those to use tools that enable people to use bitcoin in a more covert manner.

I do all I can to direct people to use privacy-focused tools but it will take time to get all of them translated into languages in countries that are commonly spoken in parts of the world without the level of freedom that we have in the more developed world.

[RiverBoy]

That's true, Bitcoin creation is still unknown person, has hide identity because of the security reasons, like wise the user has to keep some certain things secret accept when people around developed interest, since the government still against Bitcoin can't stop Bitcoin exist as long internet is functioning no one can stop Bitcoin business.

[sokani]

I think it has to do with your country and the nature of the ban. Taking my country as an example, the CBN instructed all commercial banks to freeze bank accounts of individuals linked with crypto activities, but it didn't say it's a crime for holding Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies in my wallet. There's no law stating that I would be arrested for wearing a Bitcoin branded tshirt, using a Bitcoin sticker on my car, accepting Bitcoin as payment in my local business, or hosting a crypto seminar. So looking at it from the legal point of view I cannot be arrested and I don't think anyone as been arrested for the above mentioned.

[Japinat]

This is a great way to increase bitcoin adoption spread to others, but isn’t this done at the detriment of the advocate’s safety and privacy?

Of course the one who will share this must already been secured his safety and privacy in a sense that they knew about bitcoin wallet and how to protect it from scams and been stufied the private key and related security purposes.

Some have engage in bitcoin thru trading so likely they are people whom suggest a cex and thats normal since thats what they knew, they heard, they learn and etc. We cant really make it 100% uniform for everyone how they gonna spread bitcoin but since we are in forum we can explain to them what we knew and its up to them to understand and implement whats best for them.

At least we did our part.

Spreading awareness about bitcoin need not to be risky that will eventually put your own security at risk. Just do your part at your own comfort as you can never convince people to believe about bitcoin forcing them to learn especially when their concern is not to break the law made by the government. In fact, this forum alone is a good outlet to spread awareness as we welcome a lot of newbies that are interested to learn about bitcoin and how  it can be used in the real world.

[CryptSafe]

At first before spreading the awareness of bitcoin in your country, you must know your country law and regulations if it support bitcoin transaction first before getting involved in awareness campaign publicly because doing such without having knowledge about it might put you in danger so it would be nice you do it within your nearest community, environment, locality in a cool and calm way so nobody would come after you while promoting and creating bitcoin awareness.
I think one should consider his or her safety when doing things and as such should apply caution so as to avoid government issues.

[Ndabagi01]

So before spreading bitcoin awareness, first of all take care of your own security First. If you can then leave the advocacy for that period. Bitcoin Uniqness will surely pave way for itself like it has been doing through the years.

Bitcoin has undoubtedly paved the route for itself over the years, and this can be as a result of its widespread use throughout the world in general; it doesn't matter the means of sharing, but the information it is passing is more significant. You have a valid point, however I believe it is dependent on the country in which you choose to participate in teaching others. Other extensive adoptions can be accomplished by creating videos on YouTube; nevertheless, I do not believe this will produce much insecurity to the teacher online.

I don't know where you live right now OP, but in my country owning Bitcoin is not a crime, it's currently legal to own a bitcoin here, as long as you don't use it as a currency.

Wow, I'm shocked your country will not allow you to use bitcoin as a currency, which was the main reason it was founded before all other purposes.  Being used as a store of value is still acceptable, but not being acknowledged as a currency makes its use in your country appear unjust to me.

[Issa56]

One of the main aim of bitcoin from its inception by satoshi is not just to protect our money but also to protect the user. Therefore by spreading bitcoin awareness in countries or communities that its government are against it, should be done cautiously.

If you know that bitcoin is illegal in your country then you have to avoid public awareness because you are just trying to cause problem for yourself, no one is asking anyone to get into problem just because you are trying to create awareness, their are lots of ways which you can create awareness and you won’t make it public. If you are introducing bitcoin to your friends and family members  that’s also awareness and you don’t have gather crowd to do that.

Because once the government decides to take strict actions against the users, some of the advocates that spread it publicly or use it in their businesses will easily be traced and could be convicted for breaking the law, and I don’t think even Satoshi will appreciate that.

If you know that bitcoin is not allowed in your country, then you should accept bitcoin publicly, you might be accepted maybe if a well known customer comes to your store, someone you know can’t report you, but you can’t just see someone newly and you start proposing to the person to pay you with bitcoin, then you might get into problem. If you are from a country that bitcoin is not accepted, we have to do everything possible to avoid getting into problem with the government.

[Gallar]

I have found and read through numerous threads on the forum about the spreading of bitcoin awareness and adoption by many forum members. Two of the widely used methods from this threads that I have read are; Class room teachings and using bitcoin as a payment method for ones business. This is a great way to increase bitcoin adoption spread to others, but isn’t this done at the detriment of the advocate’s safety and privacy?

It all depends on the rules or laws that exist in the country where the teaching of bitcoin takes place. Because if the teaching place is carried out by opening open classes, and for example the rules in that country strictly prohibit bitcoin. It is certain that if the person who opened the bitcoin class gets caught by the government, they will definitely be given sanctions or penalties according to the rules in that country.

But if, for example, you open a bitcoin class in a country where by law and the law does not prohibit bitcoins, it is certain that from a legal perspective, it will be safe. So in essence it all depends on the rules and laws that exist where the teaching of bitcoin is carried out.

So before spreading bitcoin awareness, first of all take care of your own security First. If you can then leave the advocacy for that period. Bitcoin Uniqness will surely pave way for itself like it has been doing through the years.

The issue of security must definitely be prioritized when opening a teaching about bitcoin. Because the spread of bitcoin always raises pros and cons, because bitcoin still sounds foreign to some people. So it's not just a matter of rules and laws that must be considered. But the matter of views, and the reactions of the people around must also be taken into account. Because if the results of the spread of bitcoin awareness bear negative results among the people around, it is certain that people's views will change towards the person who teaches bitcoin.

[hugeblack]

You mentioned an important aspect, which is privacy, but are the laws applied retroactively^[1], meaning if you were in a country and suddenly decided to ban bitcoin, then you will be given a period to stop trading in bitcoin, otherwise what legal basis will you be prosecuted?
Some of those who are being tried do so by anti-money laundering laws, illegal purchases or tax evasion. Therefore, if you intend to do thousands of dollars in trade, it is almost impossible to hide your identity, and therefore hiring a lawyer specialized in financial affairs is the best option than hiding your identity. Either if you are an ordinary trader who wants to buy bitcoin to avoid inflation or for personal reasons, enhancing your privacy is at least important to avoid being a target for hackers.

[1] https://legalresponse.org/legaladvice/941/#:~:text=A%20retroactive%20statute%20operates%20as,respect%20of%20a%20past%20event.

[CryptSafe]

One of the main aim of bitcoin from its inception by satoshi is not just to protect our money but also to protect the user. Therefore by spreading bitcoin awareness in countries or communities that its government are against it, should be done cautiously.

If you know that bitcoin is illegal in your country then you have to avoid public awareness because you are just trying to cause problem for yourself, no one is asking anyone to get into problem just because you are trying to create awareness, their are lots of ways which you can create awareness and you won’t make it public. If you are introducing bitcoin to your friends and family members  that’s also awareness and you don’t have gather crowd to do that.

There are some things better avoided and done with  wisdom so as to avert unnecessary stress than getting yourself involved with it. There is a saying that says "wisdom is profitable to direct" anyone who sees this would know accordingly. If your country prohibits bitcoin transaction then there is no point you exposing yourself to security risk because that alone  would put you always on the run. So it would be best you do it within your circle such as family, friends, relatives community, street etc and no go public with it such as seminar, television cast or shows, on air radio talk show etc all these would attract and compound more problems for you. With this, you can still carry on with your bitcoin awareness and adoption campaign and nobody would raise any dust in your direction.

[icalical]

I don't know where you live right now OP, but in my country owning Bitcoin is not a crime, it's currently legal to own a bitcoin here, as long as you don't use it as a currency.

Wow, I'm shocked your country will not allow you to use bitcoin as a currency, which was the main reason it was founded before all other purposes.  Being used as a store of value is still acceptable, but not being acknowledged as a currency makes its use in your country appear unjust to me.

I think it's to protect the official currency, using anything but the government official currency is illegal here, including foreign currency like USD and EURO, same rules for Bitcoin. We are allowed to keep USD or other foreign currency in our Bank account but if we used it for transaction as currency it's against the law. Probably got jailed, but I don't know there is never any such case.

[Obari]

You're making a great  point and my country is also a case study as well and now most advocate promote cryptocurrency through forex because I could  barely hear of public adverts for cryptocurrency in my country and what they rather do is promote forex trading and simply list bitcoin  and other cryptocurrency as a trading pair.
Security is one thing that can't be over emphasized  especially now that it seems tye government if most countries is fighting it and it is very important  that in course of spreading the awareness of bitcoin,  that our safety and privacy be maintained  and held as top priority.