Bitcoin is risky

[Reatim]

Recently I had to explain to a friend what I was focusing in on financially speaking and I brought up crypto, specifically bitcoin. He was confused at first because he heard that it was unstable and risky. I knew that he already has a bad image of bitcoin so there was an urge to defend bitcoin but in the end I did not.

Because it was true. Crypto is volatile and even though Bitcoin has proved itself to continue to rise even after each dip, its price is still unstable. I realized that this does not necessarily have to be a bad thing especially if you are knowledgeable enough to minimize these risks. It was easy to get defensive but, in the end, I just explained to that friend that that is why it requires much attention and studying.

Do not lie to people about what crypto is just so they would not think of it as something not worthwhile. Rather explain eagerly. I did this so that my friend would not worry about my financial state and if he ends up becoming interested in bitcoin then I would be glad to continue teaching him.

[balotelli]

Sure, Bitcoin might be risky, but have you ever tried letting a Tesla drive you around in autopilot mode? Now that’s a thrill ride! Or how about sitting on a Boeing 737 and realizing that sometimes even the skies have their surprises? Compared to that, Bitcoin’s volatility is just a little spice in the investment soup. At least with Bitcoin, you’re in the pilot’s seat—no autopilot required!

[SquirrelJulietGarden]

He was confused at first because he heard that it was unstable and risky.

Crypto is volatile and even though Bitcoin has proved itself to continue to rise even after each dip, its price is still unstable.

You can enlighten him more by telling him that fortunately, with time, Bitcoin has less volatile price than past years and previous market cycles.

Correction drawdowns in Bull markets become smaller with time.
https://studio.glassnode.com/workbench/bf532ce2-a66b-4798-6deb-bf3ba7decc59

[Darker45]

I remember the story of the six blind mean describing an elephant by touching it. One describes it as like a tree, the other as like a wall, the other rope, snake, and so on because each of them was touching a different part of the animal. They were all right though, but their description was limited.

If I say Bitcoin grew from a hundredth of a cent to $74,000 in just a decade and a half, that's true. That's thousands and thousands of percentage in growth. And people might be immediately amazed at what it did and jump right into investing in it. But while true, that's limited. Because, on the other hand, Bitcoin had also lost 30%, 50%, 80%, even 99% of its price in a matter of mere hours and days. This is also true yet, again, limited. If one is to emphasize this, however, many might decide not to invest in it.

So, I guess the most important thing is to provide them with the complete picture. There's risk and there's also reward. There's always rise and fall. There's always joy and sadness in any market.

[OcTradism]

If I say Bitcoin grew from a hundredth of a cent to $74,000 in just a decade and a half, that's true. That's thousands and thousands of percentage in growth. And people might be immediately amazed at what it did and jump right into investing in it. But while true, that's limited. Because, on the other hand, Bitcoin had also lost 30%, 50%, 80%, even 99% of its price in a matter of mere hours and days. This is also true yet, again, limited. If one is to emphasize this, however, many might decide not to invest in it.

Rather than convincing them with your explanation, you can give them this link to Bitcoin & Traditional Assets ROI (vs USD) with a table for ROIs of Bitcoin compares to Gold, S&P500. If they need visualization, you can introduce the ROI chart.

Both resources are helpful for them to see good ROI of Bitcoin with time, historically but if they can see smaller ROIs of Bitcoin in recent years. With time, Bitcoin has higher price and bigger market cap, so as explainable by financial rules, its ROI must shrink and become smaller.

[Darker45]

If I say Bitcoin grew from a hundredth of a cent to $74,000 in just a decade and a half, that's true. That's thousands and thousands of percentage in growth. And people might be immediately amazed at what it did and jump right into investing in it. But while true, that's limited. Because, on the other hand, Bitcoin had also lost 30%, 50%, 80%, even 99% of its price in a matter of mere hours and days. This is also true yet, again, limited. If one is to emphasize this, however, many might decide not to invest in it.

Rather than convincing them with your explanation, you can give them this link to Bitcoin & Traditional Assets ROI (vs USD) with a table for ROIs of Bitcoin compares to Gold, S&P500. If they need visualization, you can introduce the ROI chart.

Both resources are helpful for them to see good ROI of Bitcoin with time, historically but if they can see smaller ROIs of Bitcoin in recent years. With time, Bitcoin has higher price and bigger market cap, so as explainable by financial rules, its ROI must shrink and become smaller.

My point is that the intention is to either inform and educate or convince somebody. With the former, there's the complete picture. With the latter, there's bias. By presenting him/her the ROI chart, for example, the intention is probably to entice or attract him. He/she might be convinced and buy. However, in the process, you might have missed preparing him/her of the possibility or even eventually of Bitcoin losing big time in a very short period of time or a severe and continuous correction which needs years to recover.

Many people have quit Bitcoin after losing patience, after being disappointed and frustrated repeatedly, and so on. It's probably because they were conditioned to expect only the good moments. In reality, there aren't only good days; there are also bad days.

[Luzin]

Rather than convincing them with your explanation, you can give them this link to Bitcoin & Traditional Assets ROI (vs USD) with a table for ROIs of Bitcoin compares to Gold, S&P500. If they need visualization, you can introduce the ROI chart.

Indeed, the advantages provide a major attraction for Bitcoin. But remember there's an underlying technology, and that's also very important. For those who do not have mental and emotional control, Bitcoin investment will be a headache. Bitcoin investment requires more knowledge, as it relates to a wide range of Technology. Bitcoin will be a difficult investment for people who do not have the knowledge of today. In contrast to real investments such as property, gold, and land.

[serjent05]

Do not lie to people about what crypto is just so they would not think of it as something not worthwhile. Rather explain eagerly. I did this so that my friend would not worry about my financial state and if he ends up becoming interested in bitcoin then I would be glad to continue teaching him.

It is a good thing that your friend consulted you about what he heard about Bitcoin.  Bitcoin is indeed unstable and risky but beyond this being unstable and risky lies great opportunity.  Despite the good liquidity, we know that Bitcoin is highly volatile because of its market maturity.  Bitcoin is still discovering its price and due to its designed system (block halving), intensifies its speculative market.

I agree that cryptocurrency is something worthwhile but we should do our best to research any cryptocurrency project we are interested in because most of them are created just for money grab.  If we have to choose the safest cryptocurrency investment, Bitcoin is leading by a mile.

My point is that the intention is to either inform and educate or convince somebody. With the former, there's the complete picture. With the latter, there's bias. By presenting him/her the ROI chart, for example, the intention is probably to entice or attract him. He/she might be convinced and buy. However, in the process, you might have missed preparing him/her of the possibility or even eventually of Bitcoin losing big time in a very short period of time or a severe and continuous correction which needs years to recover.

I can't agree more, it is better to educate people than convince them with the profit hype.  With giving the right information, we don't have to convince people into investing in Bitcoin.  People can decide themselves after seeing the history, data and market swings of Bitcoin market.  This way, we can keep ourselves from the troubles and blame of people.  It is their money, they decide what they see fit for them.

Many people have quit Bitcoin after losing patience, after being disappointed and frustrated repeatedly, and so on. It's probably because they were conditioned to expect only the good moments. In reality, there aren't only good days; there are also bad days.

True!  These people could have been holding on to their precious BTC if they were well informed.  But because people who convinced them show only the good side, these people are shaken when bad things happens.  

[Wind_FURY]

OP, if I had such a friend I would ask him, "Risky?", then I would show him two graphs,

Bitcoin zoomed to the maximum graph, https://bitcoin.zorinaq.com/price/

The U.S. Dollar's value zoomed out graph from 1635 to 2020, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1032048/value-us-dollar-since-1640/

Leave, then let him decide if he's willing to take the trade-off of protecting himself financially by adopting Bitcoin as a back-up, fall-back in case the legacy financial system goes through a serious crisis and possibly crashes.

[Hatchy]

Do not lie to people about what crypto is just so they would not think of it as something not worthwhile. Rather explain eagerly. I did this so that my friend would not worry about my financial state and if he ends up becoming interested in bitcoin then I would be glad to continue teaching him.

Just like everyone has already said, Bitcoin is volatile. volatility is a better word to describe the market. Something risky is something that's not to be trust as it could either be scam or a scheme of which Bitcoin isn't any. This is more reason why people should try their best to carry out enough research before investing on any new ideas they were introduced to. Sometimes it's their mindset that is actually wrong. They hear Bitcoin and think that they can become rich over night. That's not how it works. You can educate them about Bitcoin and tell them the difference from altcoins. Compared to Bitcoin, altcoins are more volatile in nature. 1% price dip in Bitcoin is a 100% for altcoins.

[FinneysTrueVision]

If you only see Bitcoin as an investment then there is some risk involved. Independently of its financial value, Bitcoin’s values of decentralization and sovereignty make it a strong form of money that make people desire it and want to hold it. Even if you have a lot of faith in fiat currency, it is smart to be invested in an alternative, like Bitcoin and maybe gold, just in case.

[Bd officer]

OP, it's true bitcoin is risky. But currently I don't think Bitcoin is that risky because when the price of Bitcoin falls it is seen to recover again. In 2021 the price of Bitcoin reached $69k in Bullran and the market started to fall and in 2023 the price of Bitcoin dropped to $16k. But Bitcoin price recovered and broke the highest ATH and made a new ATH. So tell your friend that holding Bitcoin for long term is not risky, you can definitely profit. Investing in Bitcoin requires planning to hold Bitcoin for the long term. Don't invest more than you can afford to lose because you can't hold for the long term. So invest DCA method as per your ability and continue DCA for long term.

[Frankolala]

If you only see Bitcoin as an investment then there is some risk involved. Independently of its financial value, Bitcoin’s values of decentralization and sovereignty make it a strong form of money that make people desire it and want to hold it. Even if you have a lot of faith in fiat currency, it is smart to be invested in an alternative, like Bitcoin and maybe gold, just in case.

Bitcoin as an investment is risky when to u invest with a wrong mindset of getting rich quick and that is where the volatility of bitcoin will be against you. However, if you invest in a long term and hodli, you will benefit from the volatile nature of bitcoin because the price goes higher overtime.

The nature of cryptocurrency is volatile and if OP's friend does not understand this, he will hardly invest in bitcoin because he is scared of losing his funds due to lack of knowledge on bitcoin and how it works. In future he might regret his actions for doubting bitcoin as a good asset to invest in.

[fuguebtc]

If you only see Bitcoin as an investment then there is some risk involved. Independently of its financial value, Bitcoin’s values of decentralization and sovereignty make it a strong form of money that make people desire it and want to hold it. Even if you have a lot of faith in fiat currency, it is smart to be invested in an alternative, like Bitcoin and maybe gold, just in case.

Bitcoin as an investment is risky when to u invest with a wrong mindset of getting rich quick and that is where the volatility of bitcoin will be against you. However, if you invest in a long term and hodli, you will benefit from the volatile nature of bitcoin because the price goes higher overtime.

Based on history and what is happening today, we can confidently say that in the long term the possibility of bitcoin price increase is still very large. But the future is something we cannot predict, so I think there will still be short-term as well as long-term risks. Therefore, when giving advice to others, we should still advise them to only invest within their ability, and not be subjective that in the long run bitcoin will never encounter any problems.

Personally, I will still emphasize the risks of bitcoin every time someone asks me about bitcoin because, after all, bitcoin is only 15 years old and too new to claim that it is as safe as gold or other assets.

[Marvelockg]

If I say Bitcoin grew from a hundredth of a cent to $74,000 in just a decade and a half, that's true. That's thousands and thousands of percentage in growth. And people might be immediately amazed at what it did and jump right into investing in it. But while true, that's limited. Because, on the other hand, Bitcoin had also lost 30%, 50%, 80%, even 99% of its price in a matter of mere hours and days. This is also true yet, again, limited. If one is to emphasize this, however, many might decide not to invest in it.

Rather than convincing them with your explanation, you can give them this link to Bitcoin & Traditional Assets ROI (vs USD) with a table for ROIs of Bitcoin compares to Gold, S&P500. If they need visualization, you can introduce the ROI chart.

Both resources are helpful for them to see good ROI of Bitcoin with time, historically but if they can see smaller ROIs of Bitcoin in recent years. With time, Bitcoin has higher price and bigger market cap, so as explainable by financial rules, its ROI must shrink and become smaller.

My point is that the intention is to either inform and educate or convince somebody. With the former, there's the complete picture. With the latter, there's bias. By presenting him/her the ROI chart, for example, the intention is probably to entice or attract him. He/she might be convinced and buy. However, in the process, you might have missed preparing him/her of the possibility or even eventually of Bitcoin losing big time in a very short period of time or a severe and continuous correction which needs years to recover.

that's so true. When you introduce someone to Bitcoin telling him about how profitable it was in the past iether verbally or through showing them charts, the immediate expectation is that by investing they get to see that kind of returns immediately which gives them a wrong tone of starting off thier journey in the Bitcoin ecosystem. Sometimes, it's usually in our bid to sugar cort Bitcoin to looking too good that we end up sending this kind of misinformation that gives newbies a wrong orientation about investing in Bitcoin as well as forgetting to educat them on the ups and down that's associated with it.

As long as the person isn't ready to accept the ups and down that's associated with Bitcoin, it's best not to give him promises on the potential of Bitcoin knowing that you aren't in any position to ascertain what becomes of the investment.

Many people have quit Bitcoin after losing patience, after being disappointed and frustrated repeatedly, and so on. It's probably because they were conditioned to expect only the good moments. In reality, there aren't only good days; there are also bad days.

once you have a wrong start, the rest of the journey will be crooked. It's even best to hope for the worse while expecting the best as an investor so that way whatever comes along your investment journey you're better prepared to manage it.

[AprilioMP]

Recently I had to explain to a friend what I was focusing in on financially speaking and I brought up crypto, specifically bitcoin. He was confused at first Do not lie to people about what crypto is just so they would not think of it as something not worthwhile. Rather explain eagerly. I did this so that my friend would not worry about my financial state and if he ends up becoming interested in bitcoin then I would be glad to continue teaching him.

On another occasion in the ongoing discussion, I was reminded that the use of the words crypto and Bitcoin should be clarified so as not to confuse people when reading and understanding what I mean.

Bitcoin is too big that most people don't know how to process it. This sentence was conveyed by the founder of PayPal in an interview. For me it is true. Bitcoin and crypto need to be distinguished in explaining them to people.
I am also not someone who fully understands the advantages of Bitcoin, but I have been increasingly convinced that Bitcoin is something extraordinary whose scope is not only limited to price.


Source image: bitcoinmagazine

[Apocollapse]

People aren't lying when they talk about Bitcoin, but influencers, motivators, economist are.

These people always sell dream, they talk about financial freedom over and over, while the reality financial freedom is very very hard to get. Even you have a lot money and you can earn from capital gains from your investment, but there's no guarantee you will not sick in the rest of your life and cost you a big amount of money to pay medical heatlh.

This will make you will not able to life from your investment anymore.

After all, as a human we must work until we die.

[Majestic-milf]

Sure, Bitcoin might be risky, but have you ever tried letting a Tesla drive you around in autopilot mode? Now that’s a thrill ride! Or how about sitting on a Boeing 737 and realizing that sometimes even the skies have their surprises? Compared to that, Bitcoin’s volatility is just a little spice in the investment soup. At least with Bitcoin, you’re in the pilot’s seat—no autopilot required!

Hehehehe..that's something I don't think I'd try even though it promises a lot of thrill. Bitcoin is indeed risky but what isn't? Even the life you live is risky so instead of focusing on the risks and depriving yourself of what can be achieved when you take a little of the said risk, the best thing to do is not put in all you've got, but at least a small amount. More like you're testing the waters.
 Recently, the issue of Bitcoin being a profitable investment came up as a discussion between some colleagues of mine and I was within earshot. I should have told them there's downsides to it too but I just left the matter at that. They should do their research about it. The first and only time I tried telling someone about it; demerits and merits, I got told it's a sign of the end time, a currency developed by the new world order and then I rested my case.😒

[Catenaccio]

Source image: bitcoinmagazine

Peter Schiff does not like this graphics.

Bitcoin is too big that most people don't know how to process it.

People can learn how to store bitcoin and use it for transactions very quickly. They don't have to sit down and code but only need to choose a good wallet to use with friendly interface like they use other applications nowadays. It's easy, not big, pressure or stressful to use Bitcoin or broadcast a Bitcoin transaction.

I am also not someone who fully understands the advantages of Bitcoin, but I have been increasingly convinced that Bitcoin is something extraordinary whose scope is not only limited to price.

Bitcoin has advantages and disadvantages and it's unrealistic to say Bitcoin has no disadvantages.

The bullish case for Bitcoin is a good book about Bitcoin and its advantages.

[Alana Arden]

Do not lie to people about what crypto is just so they would not think of it as something not worthwhile. Rather explain eagerly. .

Agreed. For those who do not know how to control their emotions, investing in Bitcoin is difficult. Bitcoin is volatile and risky. Many people invest in Bitcoin without having proper knowledge about it, educating themselves, and getting rich in a short time. As a result, they fall to the ground in a sudden shock and have a negative perception of Bitcoin. Needless to say, the safest investment in crypto right now is investing in Bitcoin, but we also have to be prepared to lose. Before investing in Bitcoin, we need to have a correct understanding of the Bitcoin risk, the market, and whether false positives can be discounted. And with that in mind, we risk as much as we can afford to lose.