Disadvantage of bitcoin

[Obari]

Was going through some post on the forum when I came across this writing in a free signature space which writes “make sure you back up your wallet regularly! Unlike a bank account, nobody can help you if you loss access to your BTC”.


Now a lot of people would imagine the possibilities of losing access to one’s bitcoin in their wallet and there have been several cases of where people loss access to their wallets with massive holdings in it and that is why it is always advisable to back up wallet address regularly.
I’m not trying to down in BTC but at times we should call a spade a spade and accept the fact that aside decentralization that bitcoin offers and its volatility that we all profit from, a lot of people would still want to stick to the traditional banks because it also seems to be one of the safest place to keep our money.

Now my question is, do you think losing all of one’s coins simply because they didn’t have access to their wallet or key is already enough disadvantage for bitcoin against the local banks ?

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[franky1]

in the good old days. people worried about banks freezing/seizing peoples funds or bank runs, bankruptcies etc. where they wanted a new currency to get away from the risk of banks losing people funds

now it seems someone is wording things the opposite way to sound like bitcoin is not as good as banks

[Charles-Tim]

Now my question is, do you think losing all of one’s coins simply because they didn’t have access to their wallet or key is already enough disadvantage for bitcoin against the local banks ?

There are noncustodial wallets, although not recommended.
Banks are given license to provide crypto services to customers in some countries.
Now, bitcoin spot ETF will later be approved by United States SEC. Approved already in some countries.

Just like your fiat in bank that you do not have full control of, bitcoin can exist like that. Although not recommended.

Is that a disadvantage? No.

I can still see bitcoin to be the superior.

Yes, the recommendation is, backup your seed phrase (+ passphrase if included). Many people lost their seed phrase or private key backup in the past because they thought bitcoin price would never increased like this. The price increased and they were looking for a way to access their coins when it has been too late when peanut money become huge amount of money.

[logfiles]

You can't claim to call a spade a spade and then at the same time conclude that traditional banks seem to be one of the safest places to keep our money. They aren't!
Many people are just ignorant about how banks operate, or are simply lazy and careless when it comes to safeguarding their finances.

They would rather push the responsibility to someone else or a third party, and you call that safe? Hell No.
One of the main points of Bitcoin is for you to become your own bank, have a complete control over your funds and by this it's also your responsibility to safeguard those funds, just like how you would keep your fiat cash in your wallet or pocket.

[Tuturtinular]

Now my question is, do you think losing all of one’s coins simply because they didn’t have access to their wallet or key is already enough disadvantage for bitcoin against the local banks ?

One of the biggest risks with Bitcoin is when we lose our wallet keys and when someone hacks our wallet due to a malicious malware attack. We can't complain to anyone if that happens. The banking system will provide compensation if our account is hacked by someone or reset the password if we lose the ATM password. But that's the difference between decentralization and centralization, in a decentralized system no one can freeze our assets but in banking they can freeze our accounts.

With bitcoin, we ourselves hold, maintain and manage our assets without anyone being able to intervene as long as the bitcoin is in our wallet. Different from banks, they are the ones who have full access to our money. So, bitcoin is freedom and liberty, it is more expensive than anything else

[nelson4lov]

 There is no inherent risks with safeguarding Bitcoin as long as the user in question follows the best and recommended practices for safely Bitcoin. As someone who has continously lost money held in centralized orgs like banks, money market firms, etc, I've not had such experience with Bitcoin since I got involved with Bitcoin and this community. If anyone says otherwise, it is the case that they didn't take all the precautionary steps to safeguard their asset.

I actually thought the concern with this thread would be that there is no straightforward way to do on/off ramp for Bitcoin in most countries and there's only small number of support of businesses that has integrated Bitcoin for buying and selling of goods and services OR the fact that Bitcoin fees might not be favorable to the wider population especially in 3rd world countries.

[franky1]

There is no inherent risks with safeguarding Bitcoin as long as the user in question follows

its more about the wording implications vs banks . rather than sounding like advice

maybe wording it "unlike banks. you're in full control, backup your keys, bitcoin doesnt do bailouts"

[Obari]

in the good old days. people worried about banks freezing/seizing peoples funds or bank runs, bankruptcies etc. where they wanted a new currency to get away from the risk of banks losing people funds

now it seems someone is wording things the opposite way to sound like bitcoin is not as good as banks

Please don’t get me wrong as I wasn’t really implying things that way but I was rather curious as to the qoute I saw earlier and even had to take a screenshot of the post because over the time, I’ve read of cases where people had bitcoin mined on some old laptops but for some reasons couldn’t get any more access to their coins or so and I was only imagining if it was to be a bank, you’ll simply walk into the bank and get verified then get back access to your funds and I was wanting to know if there are possible ways to get access to one’s funds as I’ve always known the slogan “NOT YOUR KEY, NOT YOUR COINS” which means no keys, no coins.

Now my question is, do you think losing all of one’s coins simply because they didn’t have access to their wallet or key is already enough disadvantage for bitcoin against the local banks ?

Yes, the recommendation is, backup your seed phrase (+ passphrase if included). Many people lost their seed phrase or private key backup in the past because they thought bitcoin price would never increased like this. The price increased and they were looking for a way to access their coins when it has been too late when peanut money become huge amount of money.

No one is actually to be blamed in this case because even most of us never knew bitcoin could rise to this else we would have bought as much as we could when the price were cheaper and for those who at some points had it when it was nothing and then finally came back to see it becoming something without having access to it don’t you think they might be heart broken?

[nelson4lov]

There is no inherent risks with safeguarding Bitcoin as long as the user in question follows

its more about the wording implications vs banks . rather than sounding like advice

maybe wording it "unlike banks your in full control, backup your keys, bitcoin doesnt do bailouts"

Thanks for the heads up. Previous post was saved by mistake and completed now. The fact that OP was making it seem like users handling keys carelessly and losing access to their Bitcoins is a cause for concern when it really isn't.

[n00ber]

Was going through some post on the forum when I came across this writing in a free signature space which writes “make sure you back up your wallet regularly! Unlike a bank account, nobody can help you if you loss access to your BTC”.


Now a lot of people would imagine the possibilities of losing access to one’s bitcoin in their wallet and there have been several cases of where people loss access to their wallets with massive holdings in it and that is why it is always advisable to back up wallet address regularly.
I’m not trying to down in BTC but at times we should call a spade a spade and accept the fact that aside decentralization that bitcoin offers and its volatility that we all profit from, a lot of people would still want to stick to the traditional banks because it also seems to be one of the safest place to keep our money.

Now my question is, do you think losing all of one’s coins simply because they didn’t have access to their wallet or key is already enough disadvantage for bitcoin against the local banks ?

Nothing is perfect, everything has pros and cons. Bitcoin gives you full control, helping you proactively use your assets without the help of any third party. So the safety of your property depends entirely on you. If in case you lose access to your wallet, it is your fault, not bitcoin's. As for the bank, even if it's not your fault, your assets can still be confiscated or frozen for no reason. Choosing bitcoin or a bank is up to you. If you don't trust yourself but trust others, you should choose a bank.

[panganib999]

Well, certainly. I'd call it a disadvantage. I'd even make the whole situation bitter and drive the fact that unlike traditional banking, if you get hacked or scammed in crypto you're pretty much bound to destination fucked. You're not getting your money back and your wallet's at risk of getting attacked in the future. The lack of a central government controlling and regulating the intake and outpour of transactions in the bitcoin network is a double-edged sword per se. It's just that at the advent of a more privacy-particular crowd, everyone would highlight the fact that crypto's decentralized and secure over the fact that it practically leaves you for dead when you get forked over by someone from the other side of the planet.

[mk4]

It can be a problem, but this shouldn't really be a problem; it's just the fact that people are too reliant on account recoveries. But regardless, I think it still doesn't justify leaving most of your wealth with banks. In the end, the advantages and disadvantages of bitcoin and banks are totally subjective.

[boyptc]

A disadvantage if you don't keep your keys and won't make a back up. It's like that it's the form that we need to keep for ourselves as we fill in those information upon signing up.

There's always the message that we get for us to keep it whenever we're making our Bitcoin wallets. It teaches us things like being responsible to our own assets as we keep it as no one is going to do that for us.

[Kemarit]

Was going through some post on the forum when I came across this writing in a free signature space which writes “make sure you back up your wallet regularly! Unlike a bank account, nobody can help you if you loss access to your BTC”.

Now a lot of people would imagine the possibilities of losing access to one’s bitcoin in their wallet and there have been several cases of where people loss access to their wallets with massive holdings in it and that is why it is always advisable to back up wallet address regularly.
I’m not trying to down in BTC but at times we should call a spade a spade and accept the fact that aside decentralization that bitcoin offers and its volatility that we all profit from, a lot of people would still want to stick to the traditional banks because it also seems to be one of the safest place to keep our money.

Now my question is, do you think losing all of one’s coins simply because they didn’t have access to their wallet or key is already enough disadvantage for bitcoin against the local banks ?

Oh well, there will always be a trade off, no matter what kind of investments you have, either stocks or gold. So it will be the same on Bitcoin, but I wouldn't say it's a disadvantage, it's more on you should learn how to protect your own assets because who wouldn't, that is yours and obviously no one should take it away from you. But if you didn't take security very seriously, then it's your downfall.

We have a lot of methods already on how to keep Bitcoin safe, and it's also all over the forum. It's just a matter on whether you will execute them, I mean if you have like 1 BTC in your wallet, then you should also increased your awareness on how to protect it and also be private and not tell anyone about how much you have. There are also criminals in real world that are targeting Bitcoin holders.

[goldkingcoiner]

Now my question is, do you think losing all of one’s coins simply because they didn’t have access to their wallet or key is already enough disadvantage for bitcoin against the local banks ?

No, banks are even worse. Ask Venezuelans how they are enjoying their banking crisis. Imagine not being able to withdraw money while the money in your account is losing value. Ha. Please. Either trust the government or trust yourself.

in the good old days. people worried about banks freezing/seizing peoples funds or bank runs, bankruptcies etc. where they wanted a new currency to get away from the risk of banks losing people funds

now it seems someone is wording things the opposite way to sound like bitcoin is not as good as banks

It's just the human mistake of favoring something you already know and are deeply familiar with, no matter even if the facts say the new thing is much better …

So yeah, banks are probably going to stay around for a while, I bet. Banks are not going out of business, as long as the older generation exists. Hopefully they will be a smart part of our world. I would rather see Bitcoin on top.

[Zoomic]

Was going through some post on the forum when I came across this writing in a free signature space which writes “make sure you back up your wallet regularly! Unlike a bank account, nobody can help you if you loss access to your BTC”.

That is not a free signature space. There is Rollbit signature in that space. It is rather forum advertisement space.

I’m not trying to down in BTC but at times we should call a spade a spade and accept the fact that aside decentralization that bitcoin offers and its volatility that we all profit from, a lot of people would still want to stick to the traditional banks because it also seems to be one of the safest place to keep our money.

Even with BTC volatility that makes people profit from bitcoin and despite the decentralized nature of bitcoin, some persons still prefer to save with the government highly centralised banks.
This does not mean that Bank is safer than BTC or is the safest means of saving. It is because of their ignorance and no one has been able to unlearn them what the centralised society taught them.

Some people are so lazy such that they would want to employ someone to be brushing their teeth. They have auditors, accountants, financial advisors and lawyers. They do not want to control their money themselves. To such people, bank is the best for them.

There's no technology without a disadvantage. But for BTC, the pros heavily outweighs the cons.

[AmoreJaz]

in the good old days. people worried about banks freezing/seizing peoples funds or bank runs, bankruptcies etc. where they wanted a new currency to get away from the risk of banks losing people funds

now it seems someone is wording things the opposite way to sound like bitcoin is not as good as banks

It's just the human mistake of favoring something you already know and are deeply familiar with, no matter even if the facts say the new thing is much better...

So yeah, banks are probably going to stay around for a while, I bet.  Banks are not going out of business as long as the older generation exists. Hopefully they will be a smart part of our world. I would rather see Bitcoin on top.

and that's the reason why a lot are still trusting the use of traditional banking system because of this aspect. however, if you are confident enough on this market, you will make sure you know what you are doing every step of the way
we can't blame those people who are sticking to their traditional ways because they have their reasons.

[Kuntus]

There are so many disadvantages of Bitcoin guess we can mention a few. Let's begin with Price Volatility: Bitcoin's value can be highly volatile, leading to uncertainty and risk for investors.

• Irreversibility of Transactions: Once a Bitcoin transaction is confirmed, it is generally irreversible, which can be a drawback in cases of error or fraud.

• Security Concerns: Although the blockchain is considered secure, individual wallets and exchanges may be susceptible to compromise due to access given by custodian wallet users to third-party users.
 We can go on and about its disadvantages but still Despite the disadvantages given which of course also has their advantage/s Bitcoin has served investors better than our traditional banks providing us with a decentralized system where we make our own decisions to execute transactions without third parties or other institutions.

[hatshepsut93]

Now my question is, do you think losing all of one’s coins simply because they didn’t have access to their wallet or key is already enough disadvantage for bitcoin against the local banks ?

For some people it is, especially those that are bad with technology or bad at keeping order. But I would say volatility is the #1 reason why Bitcoin fails to achieve wide adoption as a payment method, people don't want to hold a currency that can lose its value suddenly. It's similar for a store of value use - people don't want to invest in something that is not guaranteed to grow.

[philipma1957]

Was going through some post on the forum when I came across this writing in a free signature space which writes “make sure you back up your wallet regularly! Unlike a bank account, nobody can help you if you loss access to your BTC”.


Now a lot of people would imagine the possibilities of losing access to one’s bitcoin in their wallet and there have been several cases of where people loss access to their wallets with massive holdings in it and that is why it is always advisable to back up wallet address regularly.
I’m not trying to down in BTC but at times we should call a spade a spade and accept the fact that aside decentralization that bitcoin offers and its volatility that we all profit from, a lot of people would still want to stick to the traditional banks because it also seems to be one of the safest place to keep our money.

Now my question is, do you think losing all of one’s coins simply because they didn’t have access to their wallet or key is already enough disadvantage for bitcoin against the local banks ?

Not at all. Many people simply stack 1 address in a cold wallet just in case they need to leave the place they are in. If done proper it means you have escape money.

Think if you fled the Ukraine you are not broke you have a wallet with btc in it. Plus you can send btc back to people in the Ukraine.