What do you Think is the Right Advice to Give to this Young Chap?

[Alphakilo]

I refer you to my previous post where we carried out bitcoin awareness in Cameroon. Afterward, we gifted the new bitcoiners $1 worth of bitcoin each. This question is a follow-up from one of the participants who is part of the WhatsApp group we created for continual bitcoin education and to answer whatever questions they may have as they learn more about bitcoin.

The question: Hello, thank you very much for the class on Bitcoin. I appreciate the $1 Bitcoin welcoming gift sent to our wallet s. You said we should be free to reach out with our questions on Bitcoin and so this is the reason I am reaching out. In my family, we have a precious metal(gold) that has been passed down from my great great grandfather who was a gold miner to my great  great grandfather to my grandfather and my father and now to me (My father passed away some months ago). This piece of gold is worth a lot money in US dollars. My income as a school teacher is very little for me to  to invest in Bitcoin and profit from the halving of Bitcoin in 2024 which you mentioned during the awareness class that happens once in four year. Would you advise me to sell off this gold which has been in my family for so long and use the money to buy  Bitcoin now so that I make profit from it during the halving?

Please, guys, what is the best way to respond to this question? Do you advise I tell him to take up a second job and work very hard to save up and invest in bitcoin instead of selling the precious metal that has been in his family for years because it is good to hold both gold and bitcoin? Do you advise I tell him to continue the family tradition and also pass down the gold to his children, just as his father and father's father did before him? Or that it is okay to sell off the gold and invest in bitcoin because after the halving, he would be able to buy twice as much gold as he has now? What do you think is the right advice to give to this young chap?

[Cantsay]

From the image above, the message looks like you were the one that sent it.

In this case you’re not only going to consider the risk involved in investing in something that is too speculative, you’re also going to consider his tradition. If he’s willing to sell the gold (which could also serve as a form of investment) and as well still be ready to lose the money realized from the sale then it’s settled.

Because one thing, I have noticed in this type of events organized for beginners is that the organizers always fail for talk about the risks involved in Bitcoin investments all they talk about is “transaction speed, low cost of transfer, being able to access your funds at any point in time” and also that they can make huge amount of money from bitcoin without even mentioning the fact that price could fluctuate significantly that their $1000 investment will become a $100 and I guess that’s why this person in question has reached out to you. But if he/she is prepared to face whatever the outcome may be then they can proceed to selling the gold and investing in bitcoin but if not let them keep their family heirloom for their children to inherit.

[Orpichukwu]

From the image above, the message looks like you were the one that sent it.

I was also thinking the same thing, and I almost wanted to ask if the sender took the screenshot and sent it over to the OP.
 
I also wanted to ask how you guys were able to send $1 worth of bitcoin to your participants and what means were used to send it, because half of that money will be spent on the transaction fee and multiplied by how many people you sent it to. Or do you make use of a central system where you don't have to pay a fee but rather send it to their account, which is not their wallet, and the fee won't change as it will be an internal transaction? If so, it won't also be a nice teaching bringing them into a centralised way without telling them the danger involved.
 
@Op should try getting his story straight so that there will be no confusion when reading it.

[Dunamisx]

Either he sent it on purpose or not, the advice to give is that he have to understand that bitcoin is a digital currency and not an investment scheme, there's risk as well in making an investment in it, if his family asset is what he thinks he wants to sell to invest in bitcoin, then he might be wrong because he's not the only one having right on that gold, moreover i don't know how easy it was for his parents generations to have left gold and being transferred till his generation have access to it, honestly the whole story looks like being framed looking at it from another perspective.

But here's my advice on whatsoever the condition may be, he should focus on learning bitcoin first, learn to earn bitcoin by offering online services he could get paid for in bitcoin, earn some money in bitcoin and use them to invest first, after some time when he might have gained experience in bitcoin, he may decided on the next thing to do, so let's make it a step at a time.

[Hatchy]

I would advise you to encourage him to make the decision on his own. In situations like this, you might end up being blamed for helping him make such decisions and potentially getting into serious trouble. It wouldn't be appropriate to sell a family heirloom that has been passed down through generations. Decisions like these should involve the entire family, rather than him making a solo decision to sell it. Bitcoin investment carries risks, and as a beginner with limited knowledge on how to secure his funds, he should take his time and not rush into investing. Right now, he should focus on learning the basics and consider making small, gradual investments. He should also be aware that he can start investing in bitcoin with whatever he has and consider using the Dollar-Cost Averaging (DCA) method.

[Faisal2202]

Dear, your image shows that you are the one who sent the message, because if you have received it, then it should be on the left side of the UI. I doubt your words now, are you really building these stories up or what? I'm not accusing you, I'm just being skeptical here.

Well, the answer you might give him should be based on statistics and facts. For example, I don't know how much worth and weight it has, but let's say it's worth around 100k dollars if he sells it now. And according to the price of gold (by analyzing the history charts) and doing TA and FA, you think that 100K dollars will become around 200K in the next, let's say, 5 years. Which I am truly not saying that will become, just assuming.

Then use the same profit and loss measurements and calculations on BTC, like what if he invested that 100k in BTC now at the rate of 28,700$ and sold after the halving next year and made 2x or 3x on that, which obviously is not for sure, but the risk is almost the same as in gold. And it might become hard to keep that gold in a safe place, too.

And after telling him about all the calculations, you can also give him the idea of dividing the investment into two parts, one for gold (which means keeping some form in gold) and the other for BTC. If that student of yours really wanted to enter the realm of BTC,

[Shamm]

From the image above, the message looks like you were the one that sent it.

In this case you’re not only going to consider the risk involved in investing in something that is too speculative, you’re also going to consider his tradition. If he’s willing to sell the gold (which could also serve as a form of investment) and as well still be ready to lose the money realized from the sale then it’s settled.

Because one thing, I have noticed in this type of events organized for beginners is that the organizers always fail for talk about the risks involved in Bitcoin investments all they talk about is “transaction speed, low cost of transfer, being able to access your funds at any point in time” and also that they can make huge amount of money from bitcoin without even mentioning the fact that price could fluctuate significantly that their $1000 investment will become a $100 and I guess that’s why this person in question has reached out to you. But if he/she is prepared to face whatever the outcome may be then they can proceed to selling the gold and investing in bitcoin but if not let them keep their family heirloom for their children to inherit.

yes you are right that mate it seems that he is the owner of that chat but if he is not then for sure the owner take a screen hot and send it to him like what they said above. But for me  it's look like that photo is not him/her or let say   the real owner send it to him.

But anyways the best thing to do is that when you want to be involved in investing then you must have a good amount of money in order to have a good profit  in the future so it's better to hold a small amount of it and then if there's an extra money then you can add an amount.

[Alphakilo]

From the image above, the message looks like you were the one that sent it.

Yes, you are correct. I had to take it out from the WhatsApp group and send it to myself for privacy reasons.

I don't think that is a problem.

I was also thinking the same thing, and I almost wanted to ask if the sender took the screenshot and sent it over to the OP.
 
I also wanted to ask how you guys were able to send $1 worth of bitcoin to your participants and what means were used to send it, because half of that money will be spent on the transaction fee and multiplied by how many people you sent it to. Or do you make use of a central system where you don't have to pay a fee but rather send it to their account, which is not their wallet, and the fee won't change as it will be an internal transaction? If so, it won't also be a nice teaching bringing them into a centralised way without telling them the danger involved.
 
@Op should try getting his story straight so that there will be no confusion when reading it.

Hi you can find the answer to your question which has already been asked by Poker Player and was responded to in my previous post.

It seems like you are doing a good job. The only thing, I imagine that the LN is done through some centralized entity, isn't it?

Yes, we used Blink (formerly Bitcoin Beach Wallet).

[Zanab247]

Since your father couldn't make use of the opportunity when he was alive, and he has passed out and the opportunity is yours, and you have heard about BTC and cryptocurrency and what someone can earn from it if he or she invest in the right time. I will advise you to sell the part of the land, and invest the money on BTC now that there is still bear season, and it will help you to achieve what nobody have never achieve in your family, if you know you acquire the knowledge of BTC and you know when to buy and when not to sell in a particular period. I no you will never forget this teacher that teach you BTC because, if truly you understand his teaching very well, and you can invest and hold for a long period of time,you will not regret what you will achieve at the end.

[Rruchi man]

~

He should first ask himself the purpose for which the gold was passed down from one generation to the other till it got to him.

Does it represent something special for the family and was never meant for sale but to be passed from generation to generation, or is it gold that was passed down as inheritance and will not mean anything if it is sold and not passed to the next generation? These are two very important questions.

If it is gold that should not be sold, it means that it should not be sold because if it is sold and the money invested into bitcoins, that original amount invested from the sale of the bitcoin is still not logically yours and will need to passed to the next generation. You can only claim ownership to the profit from it.

[SatoPrincess]

This is a difficult question. On one hand, it will be foolish to advice him to sell family heirloom because of the sentimental value it has. This is a family legacy, and something to remember his father by. But children are different, some people may not share such sentiments and may consider selling family treasures to improve their financial status. From the OP, I sense the young man doesn’t have any sentimental value for the object his father passed down to him. He sees it for its value as gold, I think he’s already made up his mind to sell the object. The only thing stopping him right now is the million dollar question “ is Bitcoin more profitable than Gold”.

[BIT-BENDER]

Well firstly you need to know the importance of the precious metal is to their family before you can do anything. The reason is because the precious metal has been passed down from generation to generation in his family so if the previous generations did not sell then their should be a reason.

Investing now in Bitcoin because of the coming Bitcoin halving to me is a desperate move, one Which is born because you believe you must make profits. But Bitcoin is volatile and nothing is guaranteed in terms of return on investment. I think in your class you should teach more about Bitcoin financial system advantages more than the investment purposes .

[ZAINmalik75]

yes you are right that mate it seems that he is the owner of that chat but if he is not then for sure the owner take a screen hot and send it to him like what they said above. But for me  it's look like that photo is not him/her or let say   the real owner send it to him.

I thought the same, but I was wondering why the sender of the message would have to send the screenshot to the OP of this post. I mean, that sender doesn't know that or have any idea in mind that Alphakilo wants to create a topic related to this query on the Bitcointalk forum from the community. I mean, if I am that sender and I came to know that I am asking someone a question and that person is also asking that question from others, like from BTT, then why would I be asking any question from that guy in the first place?

I will go for the last person, which in this case is BTT.

This indicates that the OP is creating an environment and faking things to ask questions here on BTT and wanted to gain some attention, or I might be wrong at all. I hope I am wrong in this matter, because I read your last post, and it was really motivating and encouraging, and I really liked your work.

Overall, I will suggest you to answer that dude, to invest half of the funds in BTC and keep the other half in Gold.

[acroman08]

advise him to not sell it(at least at the moment), judging from the screenshot you shared, it looks like he is very new to Bitcoin and still does not grasp the risk that comes when investing in it. what I'd suggest you tell him is to continue learning about Bitcoin, do his own research, broaden his knowledge about cryptocurrency, etc... before he starts thinking of investing in Bitcoin especially if the only way he can invest is to sell a family heirloom to get the money. there are a lot of things at risk for him here, investing in cryptocurrency blindly can leave you a lot of financial trouble.

[Kasabus]

 Bitcoin can be considered a secured investment but it won't assure guaranteed profits due to it's highly volatile and unpredictable market. So one should never invest if he is still in doubt, and one should never invest by risking other asset just to invest in bitcoin. Instead, make yourself familiarize and understand well about bitcoin. Do not jump into making investment, but know the risks first that you need to overcome so you won't regret your decision  in the end. And as much as possible, never invest using other people's money or asset, but use your own hard-earned money that you can afford to lose whenever your investment does not work according to your plan.

Bitcoin investment is certainly more valuable than fiat investment. But it won't make you profitable unless if you don't know how to deal with its risk wisely. And being wise and smart means, know what you are investing and know when to invest and know when not to.

[Fiatless]

Please, guys, what is the best way to respond to this question? Do you advise I tell him to take up a second job and work very hard to save up and invest in bitcoin instead of selling the precious metal that has been in his family for years because it is good to hold both gold and bitcoin? Do you advise I tell him to continue the family tradition and also pass down the gold to his children, just as his father and father's father did before him? Or that it is okay to sell off the gold and invest in bitcoin because after the halving, he would be able to buy twice as much gold as he has now? What do you think is the right advice to give to this young chap?

For family, the gold bar is not just an investment but a generational asset. Some items should never be sold regardless of how much returns they will bring. I would advise him not to sell the gold bar to buy Bitcoin because that precious stone is also a good investment.  There is no need to rush to invest in the sector because he needs to learn many things. If he is not well informed about Bitcoin, he might end up losing his investment. The best option is for him to start small and build his holding using DCA over the years.

Getting a second job, saving, and investing some percentage of his income in Bitcoin will be better than selling a generational asset. Another reason not to sell the gold bar is because the gold market is more stable than the bitcoin market. The price of Bitcoin is unpredictable so there is no assurance that he will make gain from his profit next year. We know bitcoin halving is next year but we cannot accurately predict how high the price of bitcoin will go.

[Catenaccio]

I refer you to my previous post where we carried out bitcoin awareness in Cameroon. Afterward, we gifted the new bitcoiners $1 worth of bitcoin each.

Gifting others in BTC is good to help its adoption but distributing your gift that has value as $1 in BTC is impossible. If you want to make distribution with Bitcoin on-chain. The gift is small in value and you will have to spend on chain transaction fee too.

Do you make the $1 distribution by Lightning Network, off chain?

This question is a follow-up from one of the participants who is part of the WhatsApp group we created for continual bitcoin education and to answer whatever questions they may have as they learn more about bitcoin.

Joining groups will put newbies in risk of phishing links, admin impersonators.

Because with educational discussions, I believe group members will use many links to educational resources. Bad members, hackers can abuse it by sending phishing links and malicious files.

[LogitechMouse]

I will share my own experience during the last bull run, and will share my advice afterwards. I bought some assets sometime around 2018, and held it until the recent bull run that happened in 2021. I saw my portfolio going to as high as $7,000 or even higher. Did I sell it during the bull run? No, and I'm very disappointed of myself because I let my potential profits go away.

My advice is that "Don't fall in love with your assets." Whether it's a gold, or silver, or whatever assets it is, always, always sell it if there's an opportunity, or you believe that investing it into another asset will give you higher profit. We have different reasons as to why we are holding assets like with the guy you shared OP where the gold has been passed from generation to generation. So will it stay that way forever? No one will have the guts to sell it? For me, assets are meant to be sold for profit, nothing more, nothing less, and that includes gold, and Bitcoin.

To answer this "Would you advise me to sell off this gold which has been in my family for so long and use the money to buy  Bitcoin now so that I make profit from it during the halving?" I guess it would be better for that gold holder to ask his family first because it seems like the gold has a sentimental value towards other family members since it has been passed for a very long time. If all of them agrees then I would say yes - only if that person is already equipped with knowledge with regards to Bitcoin.

Ask the teacher guy OP as to why he is holding that Gold. From there, you can formulate an advice. You will hear different advice here since we have different perspective when it comes to Gold. I already shared mine. Sell any asset if there's an opportunity.

[Text]

I would advise him to take some time to reflect on the emotional and historical value of the gold that has been passed down through generations. This is not just a financial asset but a piece of his family's history and tradition. Selling it could result in the loss of a significant family heirloom. And yeah it's given that you are discussing the potential benefits of Bitcoin as an investment. If he chooses to invest in Bitcoin, he should do so with a portion of his savings that he can afford to risk, without compromising his financial stability or the family's well-being. If I am in your shoes, I'll encourage him to consider a balanced approach. He doesn't have to sell all of the gold. He can explore diversifying his investments by allocating a portion of his savings to Bitcoin while preserving the family tradition and the gold. This way, he can benefit from the potential growth of Bitcoin while maintaining the precious family heritage.

[Gladitorcomeback]

OP your work is just to give suggestions as we are not professional financial advisors and your friend should invest i
with own risk. You should share the history of Bitcoin in front of him and also teach him the the benefits and risk involved in btc. investment in btc is no doubt better than investing in gold but risk is also involved. btc price volatility is high other metals and it's not guaranteed that price will only go upside.

I advice that you your friend should not sell precious metal which they believe that will give high price in future and at the same time your friend should invest monthly some extra money in btc. In this way not only they will hold gold and also they will invest in btc in proper way.

[libert19]

Since no one talked about security aspect, I'll plough my tent here. It's one thing to make investment and completely different one to secure that investment, here government won't take care of your fund's security, you are on your own. Teach him security lessons first, cryptocurrency space is plagued with scams/hacks, newbies are easy prey.

Using hardware wallet, keeping seed phrase offline, being wary of scams, staying anonymous — not blowing trumpet of your investment whether online or offline — are some security tips top of my head.

Not knowing the stuff and diving in is stupid and will likely make you lose your money.

[lovesmayfamilis]

I always feel sorry for people who are very fiercely trying to get out of poverty and are ready to believe anyone who promises to help them with this. In this case, I see this story only this way: a person, not understanding all the intricacies of Bitcoin, believes in stories that Bitcoin will help them live better, and he can be understood, but the only thing he has is a family heirloom. One can guess that the situation is so bad that people are ready to part with the family history that they have kept for quite a long time. OP, show him our forum; let him come here himself and grow his knowledge together with people who will not cloud people’s brains with fairy tales about a beautiful future life. If a person does not have money to invest now, then investing a little will not make him rich. I think this has long been clear to everyone.

 I'll pretend your story is plausible. But answer me: If you want to help him, why remove him from the chat?

[Woodie]

I refer you to my previous post where we carried out bitcoin awareness in Cameroon. Afterward, we gifted the new bitcoiners $1 worth of bitcoin each. This question is a follow-up from one of the participants who is part of the WhatsApp group we created for continual bitcoin education and to answer whatever questions they may have as they learn more about bitcoin.

If that gold is a family treasure and you want to kill this tradition by selling it off gorBitcoin then am not going to be the person to back you up on this even if it's for Bitcoin!! Sometimes we ought to respect the process and lesson being taught,  you choose to sell that all your family members will know and know the real lesson will come..for your peace of mind just wait for your time to pass it on should be the advice.

But had it been his asset, well I will be the first to say sell it as it reduces the security demands it requires, the space issues and weight are all taken care of but unfortunately this has interest from family and family must come first.

Please, guys, what is the best way to respond to this question? Do you advise I tell him to take up a second job and work very hard to save up and invest in bitcoin instead of selling the precious metal that has been in his family for years because it is good to hold both gold and bitcoin?

Not bad of a suggestion!

Let him not have easy buy selling family artefacts, let him try work for his wealth unless it goes to the worst like family needing the money for surgery or something serious.

[Abu-Naim]

Please, guys, what is the best way to respond to this question? Do you advise I tell him to take up a second job and work very hard to save up and invest in bitcoin instead of selling the precious metal that has been in his family for years because it is good to hold both gold and bitcoin? Do you advise I tell him to continue the family tradition and also pass down the gold to his children, just as his father and father's father did before him? Or that it is okay to sell off the gold and invest in bitcoin because after the halving, he would be able to buy twice as much gold as he has now? What do you think is the right advice to give to this young chap?

Because the gold is a family gold, your student should make this decision on his own and confer with family members.
If you advise him to sell the gold and invest the proceeds in bitcoin, you should be responsible for teaching him everything he needs to know about bitcoin, wallets, private keys, and so on, as well as how to secure his private key to avoid losing the bitcoin he purchased. If you cannot take on all of this responsibility, you should advise him to do additional research and know what to do next because it is family gold.

[Lucius]

Yes, you are correct. I had to take it out from the WhatsApp group and send it to myself for privacy reasons.
I don't think that is a problem.

It's strange that you are concerned about the privacy of the participants in the chat group, and at the same time some of their faces were shown in the thread you opened in the Bitcoin discussion. If you protect someone's privacy, you should do it in the right way.


As for the gold that someone has inherited, it obviously has sentimental value and at the same time it is insurance in case the family really needs a larger amount of money. I personally would not "gamble" with that, especially if I am someone who has just (perhaps) understood some basics, because as some other members have already mentioned, it is not just a matter of what the price of BTC will be in 1 or 5 years, but will that man manage to save what he invested long enough to make a profit.

Everyone should therefore think carefully and weigh the risks, because we don't want another story that starts with "I opened my crypto wallet and someone emptied it, what should I do?".