The risk and reward of having Bitcoin

[Aanuoluwatofunmi]

*The high volatility attach to it can be very risky.

The risk does not include on its volatility, but the rate at which bitcoin Investors got themselves into taking risk in whatever thing they are doing, being volatile is not the risk, but understanding the way to abstain from taking the risk is what is needed to know and do.

* It's not generally accepted by all.

This is not a disadvantage either, bitcoin can be used as a medium of exchange for goods and services at any point in time, there are many establishments that accepts bitcoin for making payments, it's a legal means of buying and selling items, a digital currency that is directly opposite the fiat traditional currency which is physical.

* It can be stolen if your system is hacked.

Fiat can also be stolen, but with bitcoin, it has to be that you permitted this to happen, if not, no one can hack you without having a link that direct them towards you.

[Casdinyard]

There is a saying that what ever had an advantage also had a disadvantage, why am saying this is because most people especially the newbie's thinks when having Bitcoin the situation is always win win win. So I will be listing a few of the advantages and disadvantages of having it.
disadvantage of having it

*The high volatility attach to it can be very risky.

* It's not generally accepted by all.

* It can be stolen if your system is hacked.

* It's almost near impossible to retrieve if sent to the wrong address.

  advantages of having it

* It can make you filthy rich during the bull run.

* It decentralized, no third party like banks and financial institution.

* It's a self custodian asset, the privacy is priceless.

* It's very accessible at any given point in time.
 
I don't know if I missed some that I didn't mention.

I can't say these "detriments" or risks per se is particularly specific only to bitcoin. For example, anything that is hacked can be stolen from you, fiat digital money from your local banks, information you put out on the internet whilst you sign up for those surveys and shit, there's a lot of stuff that can be stolen from you and that is not only specific to bitcoin/crypto. As for the volatility rate of bitcoin and crypto, I say that's more like a  double-edged sword cause this very fluctuations brought out by the volatility rate of crypto that also grants you these high price hikes that you love about crypto. And the even more crazy thing about this comparison is that, while most of the things you talked about in the disadvantage section can be seen in other investment types/ventures, the advantages are only specific to crypto.

It's quite crazy how bitcoin can be like this, but I'm not saying it doesn't have its fair share of downsides. Perhaps invest in more research next time to make a more compelling topic?

[Fivestar4everMVP]

disadvantage of having it

*The high volatility attach to it can be very risky.

The high volatility of bitcoin is where the money is, without volatility, it probably wouldn't have been possible to make quick profit from bitcoin, it's true that in the quest for a quick profit, some may encounter loses, but know it that, for as far as you did not sell your bitcoin, it will turn out profitable later.

So for me, this is not a disadvantage, the high volatility in bitcoin is one of the features that attracted alot of investors into crypto.

* It's not generally accepted by all.

Who cares if bitcoin is not accepted by, trade it with those that accept it and ignore those who don't, those who don't accept bitcoin today will come to accept it tomorrow, and by then, you will be the one selling bitcoin to them at your own choice of price.

* It can be stolen if your system is hacked.

Even your fiat currency can be stolen if your system is hacked, scammers can get access to your private information, through which they can gain access into your bank account, and withdraw all your money.

* It's almost near impossible to retrieve if sent to the wrong address.

Teaches you to apply carefulness in every thing you do, many times I've also sent fiat to a wrong account, and never got it back, even after complaining to the bank.

In conclusion, disadvantages of holding bitcoin aren't really disadvantages, it all depends on the angle you are looking at it from.

[TheUltraElite]

The disadvantages are not significant if you have been using bitcoin for some time now, yes for newbies coming from a fiat background it might seem difficult at the beginning but they eventually catch up. Fortunately I never ran into such troubles in my newbie days but I have read about many users here who messed things up. Government crackdown is one scary thing because we all have to abide by the local laws, I an hopeful that in future this might improve.

Acceptance will improve in future. This is from what I have been observing around bitcoin over the last few years in the news and media.

[yazher]

One of the most advantageous features of bitcoins is you can actually hide them from others without letting anyone know that you have them and you can walk on this earth by pretending that you are one the poorest people on Earth while in reality, you have thousands of dollars worth of bitcoins in your crypto wallet. And when something is not right concerning the security of your country or some natural disasters will happen, you can easily bring it out with you letting others know that you have that huge amount of money with you. This is where they failed to understand but we cannot blame each other since they were just ignorant and didn't know about its real importance.

[so98nn]

That is interesting but with time you get to know it better. It's like riding on its volatility and understanding its importance over time. If Bitcoin weren't volatile then it would have been cheap right now. There is an indirect correlation that I find between them. Its volatility makes it a highly tradable asset on every exchange. The movement starts going bearish peeps are going nuts everywhere. Have you seen the volume going up and down every time this happens? Take the example of the halving period. This is like an amphora of richness when it is around. I agree that fees skyrocket, there is FOMO, and everything running at the same time but man that's what drives the price of Bitcoin. In addition to that having Bitcoin possession is a unique thing because as you stated in advantages, it can be an asset that can make you rich in any movement. By the way, you lose nothing until you sell anything. So it's all about the perspective.

[Mary Roberts]

There is a saying that what ever had an advantage also had a disadvantage, why am saying this is because most people especially the newbie's thinks when having Bitcoin the situation is always win win win. So I will be listing a few of the advantages and disadvantages of having it.
disadvantage of having it

*The high volatility attach to it can be very risky.

* It's not generally accepted by all.

* It can be stolen if your system is hacked.

* It's almost near impossible to retrieve if sent to the wrong address.

  advantages of having it

* It can make you filthy rich during the bull run.

* It decentralized, no third party like banks and financial institution.

* It's a self custodian asset, the privacy is priceless.

* It's very accessible at any given point in time.

high volatility does make bitcoin investments risky, but also potentially lucrative. By noting that bitcoin is not accepted everywhere and is subject to hacking risks, you correctly point out important security aspects. At the same time, highlighting the possibility of significant enrichment, decentralization and privacy is what appeals to many.
 
I don't know if I missed some that I didn't mention.

[Viscore]

Every investment has its own advantages and disadvantages. Bitcoin isn't an exception.

You buy a house to make passive income but the tenant may skip his payments or damage the property. These things happen a lot. Phys gold might get stolen... FIAT gets eaten by the inflation. Stocks are volatile... Bonds are tricky as well. You may prefer to buy paper gold but then the banks raise the spread so much, they rip you off when you sell your position.

It is probably a good idea to have a diversified portfolio.

That would be the safest probably, if you lose at a single investment, others might also be in profits so you are still not at a total loss.

However, when it comes to bitcoin advantages and disadvantages, what OP tell is partly true. But you won't fall into its disadvantage if you know already how to invest in bitcoin and how to make it work and profitable. If you follow the basics in bitcoin, everything will come out fine and as long as you avoid being greedy but stay mindful on your investment, you will never be affected with its disadvantages.

[AnonBitCoiner]

*The high volatility attach to it can be very risky.

There is a risk in every domain but there is also some fixers exists for solving the complications. Volatility exists but why are thinking that volatility is bad characteristics of crypto market even it gives opportunity to buy lower and sell higher to intensify virtues of money.

* It's not generally accepted by all.

Everyone can think well for himself and if someone is not accepting bitcoin then its not our headache because we are not giving money to others for investment so may be he has no such amount for bitcoin investment and perhaps he prefer another field of investment about which he knows well so we cannot judge other people without knowing the fact.

[btc78]

Saying high volatility is risky and making you rich at the same time doesn't make sense, if there's no volatility, how you can earn from your investment?

most people think bitcoin is terrifying because it’s volatile and when something is volatile its value is not stable and will keep on fluctuating the dramatic rise and low of the price make it hard for others to keep up but if you are a seasoned investor and you know how to read the market, you can take advantage of bitcoin’s volatility

[GbitG]

*The high volatility attach to it can be very risky.

High volatility is not based on all the risks, but it depends on your actions. If you choose the right reasons, you can turn this risk into a profit. That is, the best way to reduce volatility is to diversify funds. This means only DCA can protect you against volatility.

* It's almost near impossible to retrieve if sent to the wrong address.

This is the secret of Bitcion's quality and success: once you make a transaction, you cannot retrieve it, because if you reverse the transaction or retrieve it, then there is no bigger fraud and cheating system than Bitcion. . In my opinion, the process of irreversibility is the most prominent feature of Bitcoin, and because of this, Bitcoin is beyond the reach of fraudsters and hackers. Let us suppose that if Bitcoin has transaction retrieval, then people would have sent it once and retrieved it again, and like that, Bitcoin would be called a useless thing.

So it means to say that now we can't get rid of it by retrieving it; it's just what it is. Before making the transaction, you should verify it well so that you don't have to suffer any losses later.

 

[macson]

snip
*The high volatility attach to it can be very risky.

* It's not generally accepted by all.

* It can be stolen if your system is hacked.

* It's almost near impossible to retrieve if sent to the wrong address.

  advantages of having it

* It can make you filthy rich during the bull run.

* It decentralized, no third party like banks and financial institution.

* It's a self custodian asset, the privacy is priceless.

* It's very accessible at any given point in time.
 
I don't know if I missed some that I didn't mention.

Bitcoin price volatility will actually never cause losses to any Bitcoin investor if that person doesn't sell the Bitcoin they own.
it's not a hacked system that can make you lose your Bitcoin, but if you carelessly save your password and private key.
i would like to add a little about the benefits of Bitcoin, that is you can transfer large amounts of money between countries and continents in just a fraction of a second, even without fees of up to tens of dollars.
the bitcoin you own will not be able or impossible to be stolen by other people if you protect your password and keyphrase.

[Captain Corporate]

There aren't many reasons why there is a risk, I mean sure if you do not think that you can hold it volatile situation, then you could consider the situation as good as it can get if you are willing to hold. The "filthy rich" part is good enough and I do not think that anything else is required, you are just happy to get richer and richer by holding longer and longer and you shouldn't consider anything else. I get that we are talking about something that may have some downsides, but when the upside is that you are going to be super rich, all the downsides are unimportant suddenly and you should be acting like there is no downside. Thats why if you ask me, there is no downside at all.

[darkangel11]

disadvantage of having it

*The high volatility attach to it can be very risky.

This only affects you if you want to hold for a short time. I cared about volatility when I held bitcoin for a year. When I hit 5 or 6 years I was so far ahead that it did not matter anymore if I'm down 20%  since I was up 500% or more. So, holding your last money in bitcoin is risky, but if you invest 10% of your liquid capital the risk is near 0.

* It's not generally accepted by all.

I don't care as long as it's accepted in places that I want to buy and as long as I can exchange it to goods and services.

* It can be stolen if your system is hacked.

So keep it in a hardware wallet. These things cost less than $100 these days.

* It's almost near impossible to retrieve if sent to the wrong address.

Just like a bank transfer. Try getting your money back if you send it to the wrong person. You can get it back from a business but not from a random private account holder.

[exhort]

I would like to add; still not many people realize how much exchanges play a role in providing a clean, fair marketplace. Without auditing exchanges there is no way to tell if exchanges are insider trading or hedging bets against the market. Many people can claim exchanges are manipulating the market, but without enforcing regulations, crackdowns and audits, we wouldn't know.

[ChiBitCTy]

I think it would be prudent to add to the advantage column how it's more sound money that traditional fiat money, how it's blockchain is a breakthrough technology that no other type of similar "platform" had ever had before.  How it's decentralized nature is different (better) than that of our current monetary systems which are all centralized in nature.

I do agree with your main bullet points though, they are pretty spot on.

[GbitG]

* It's not generally accepted by all.

Yes, it is true that in general people do not accept it because there are still people in the world who see Bitcoin as a disgrace, and that is the reason why Bitcoin has rejected their cheap or corrupt system. Just helpless and despised in the world of real finance. And I think this is the reason why fiat currency lovers hate Bitcoin.

* It can be stolen if your system is hacked.

Losing or hacking your Bitcoin depends on how you protect your assets or take security measures. It has nothing to do with Bitcoin that if the system is hacked, Bitcoin can also be stolen. Bitcoin depends on you; if you do not leave any shortfall in your security measures, you cannot lose Bitcoin or hack. It means keeping your funds in your wallet instead of exchang , and that too in hardware wallets. Keep phrases, pass codes, etc. safe. So, hopefully, no such issue can be presented to you due to which you lose your funds or get victimized by hackers.

Moreover, if something is lost, i.e. the system is hacked, they can lose it apart from Bitcion, whether it is a bank account or any other funds. It is up to you to keep it safe by not keeping it in a place where it is easy for a hacker to hack it, but keeping it in a safe place.

[Manny@11111]

You need to first understand every business undertaking is risky but saying Bitcoin is volatile is not entirely true, will say moderately volatile as you need to understand coins you are comparing it with and they are faring.

Yes, not generally accepted by all but based on  recent acceptability we can say we have more people venturing into crypto market most especially Bitcoin & Ethereum. For last 2 quoted as disadvantage I believe they can happen due to  human errors which needs to be handled with all seriousness by holder.

[flyingcarpet]

I think it would be prudent to add to the advantage column how it's more sound money that traditional fiat money, how it's blockchain is a breakthrough technology that no other type of similar "platform" had ever had before.  How it's decentralized nature is different (better) than that of our current monetary systems which are all centralized in nature.

I do agree with your main bullet points though, they are pretty spot on.

You wrote the article that I wanted to add, and I would like to add that Bitcoin is more robust and reliable than traditional fiat money.

* It's not generally accepted by all.

Bitcoin has many advantages and over time Bitcoin will be accepted by many people. People who do not understand Bitcoin now will understand it in the future and will start to enjoy its advantages. Change takes time and we are in no rush.

[Hamza2424]

*The high volatility attach to it can be very risky.

Hmm, I'm sure you are counting the traders here not investors because for investors Bitcoin is the name of reality. #Hodl

* It's not generally accepted by all.

Hmm, considering the actual hype of this bull rally you won't regret, it because now we are heading towards a mass level of adoption. #ETF's

* It can be stolen if your system is hacked.

Well, that is a fact but I will count the superiority of the self custody over this point i can take care of funds, I do not need any central system to take over my assets and provide the namely security from themselves haha.
#not_your_key_not_your_funds

* It's almost near impossible to retrieve if sent to the wrong address.

Hmm, there's a point where it's not nearly impossible it's completely impossible unless or until the receiver is kind that he returns the amount back to you. Such an incident rarely happens becasue we all copy & paste the address. hehe, a small reminder to be aware of the clipboard virus.