Internet search about Bitcoin can be misleading for beginners at times

[KiaKia]

We had a talk about Bitcoin and I asked why he is not in bitcoin yet he said the Internet says is money suited for crimes I did some research myself and I found the same thing online.

Tool for illicit activities: Bitcoin's pseudonymous nature and decentralized structure have made it a favored tool for criminals involved in money laundering, terrorism financing, drug trafficking, and ransomware attacks.

This is why my home boy don't want to get involved with Bitcoin, I don't want to say much because I am considering his age, he is still 14 years old and he is spending money on useless things, it was where the idea came from, I mean the whole talk about Bitcoin.

I told him that Fiat is more suited for crime than Bitcoin, dirty politicians can have money move around in fiat and hide it because they are in power but the blockchain is public, is there any point you guys can contribute to add up?

[Die_empty]

We had a talk about Bitcoin and I asked why he is not in bitcoin yet he said the Internet says is money suited for crimes I did some research myself and I found the same thing online.

Tool for illicit activities: Bitcoin's pseudonymous nature and decentralized structure have made it a favored tool for criminals involved in money laundering, terrorism financing, drug trafficking, and ransomware attacks.

Who do you think controls the internet? Some of these service providers are financed or have links to banks. They will always try to demarket Bitcoin. Sometimes you would need to research beyond the surface to discover the truth. 

This is why my home boy don't want to get involved with Bitcoin, I don't want to say much because I am considering his age, he is still 14 years old and he is spending money on useless things, it was where the idea came from, I mean the whole talk about Bitcoin.

I told him that Fiat is more suited for crime than Bitcoin, dirty politicians can have money move around in fiat and hide it because they are in power but the blockchain is public, is there any point you guys can contribute to add up?

We have passed the era when these Bitcoin critics used illegal activities as a tool to attack Bitcoin. These attacks were not fruitful; that's why they want to join the crypto ecosystem. Anyone who believes this lie is ignorant and not willing to learn.       

[Ambatman]

Tool for illicit activities: Bitcoin's pseudonymous nature and decentralized structure have made it a favored tool for criminals involved in money laundering, terrorism financing, drug trafficking, and ransomware attacks.

in the part you highlighted it says made it a favored tool which means criminal are taking advantage of it
Not that it was created for criminals.
Besides the blockchain is public and if one wants true anonymity then Cash still remains king.


In the Old, Sword kills but also protect. The tool isn't at fault but the users.

If a drugs that can heal any disease or ailment exist and instead it's used for inhumane experimentation of Humans
Does that make the drug inhumane too? No.

[underwood77]

It also happens to me when I talk about Bitcoin with other people. 90% of the time the answer is that it’s a scam, that it helps criminals, that it’s used for illegal trafficking. The truth is that until the big banks and governments say ‘use Bitcoin, it’s a sound and decentralized currency,’ they will keep using fiat. When banks and the mass media start saying that Bitcoin is not for criminals—in fact, the currency most used in crime is still the USD—then people will start to come in en masse (maybe too late if they’re only watching the price). Unfortunately, most people are like a herd being led by their master.

[Helena Yu]

I remember when I was 14 years old, I'm just playing with my friends, doing my homework, playing video games, doing my hobby, participating in extracurricular and join school competition.

So if I met a little kids who think like that, I will not interfere them.

It's dangerous if they taught economy/bank subject in their school, then they will have an argument against the teacher.

[Dr.Bitcoin_Strange]

I read something similar on the beginners board some time ago, the google search produces some inaccurate, incomplete and biased information about Bitcoin. That's how it's misleading some persons, I remember searching something about Bitcoin on google and the results I got was making reference to some altcoins that were listed out for me, so, I don't have doubt in what Op is saying. What I will advice you is to put the boy through the right knowledge of Bitcoin since he is already showing interest to it, you can be of good advantage to him.

[Youngrebel]

You would have dropped the link to the site for public clarification. The concept bitcoin is not narrow to one or few articles but a lot and it is like a review where everyone has their own few. And those misleading articles are not contemporary articles but old articles that probably the writers are no more, and nobody to re-edit them. I believe from 2019, article writers and bloggers have known the legitness and trustworthy of bitcoin so their write have changed.
When I came to this forum too I was seen some kind of threads in that magnitude but that doesn't mean bitcoin is not legit but it is the view point from those people and I believe they themselves have seen the good part of bitcoin.

[BlackBoss_]

We had a talk about Bitcoin and I asked why he is not in bitcoin yet he said the Internet says is money suited for crimes I did some research myself and I found the same thing online.

Tool for illicit activities: Bitcoin's pseudonymous nature and decentralized structure have made it a favored tool for criminals involved in money laundering, terrorism financing, drug trafficking, and ransomware attacks.

In many years, Bitcoin was attacked by many people as a tool for crimes but you can guess that people who hate Bitcoin will try their best for preventing its adoption growth.

All these criminal activities can be seen in all industries, just more or less, and you can see it in cash, bank transfers, gold deals, and more. So it is not reasonable for using it to attack Bitcoin if we are not Bitcoin attackers, we can easily see it as non sense attacks.

It can be proven with more data and details in a report on Crypto Crime (2025) from Chainalysis.

Fortunately with Internet, you can check, double check, and cross check information from different search engines and resources.
https://endthefud.org/justice

[joniboini]

We had a talk about Bitcoin and I asked why he is not in bitcoin yet he said the Internet says is money suited for crimes I did some research myself and I found the same thing online.

Is that really where he got the idea from? I'm not up to date with what the new kids are doing nowadays, but we have YouTube, Twitter, TikTok, and so on, where they can get a short video explaining this or that. I wouldn't be surprised if he sees one of them, especially if it comes from his favorite content creator.

I think you need to tell him other things that criminals also use, like ToR, VPN, and so on. Will he also avoid them because some people abuse them? Or is he afraid that the government will go to your door and jail him?

[Razmirraz]

Initially, most people were skeptical about Bitcoin and reluctant to get involved with it, but look now, Bitcoin has been accepted by various elements of society ranging from those with modest incomes, business people, large companies and even governments. Now governments and financial institutions are starting to formulate policies that support and accept the presence of Bitcoin, support from governments that accept Bitcoin which can function as a strategic reserve for the country allows the foundation of Bitcoin to grow because it has been considered a reliable store of value and a hedge against inflation.
It's natural that your 14-year-old friend is still reluctant to get involved with Bitcoin because usually the mindset of teenagers his age is still very unstable and still asks for money from their parents. Maybe when he reaches adulthood, he will come to you to teach him about Bitcoin and everything related to it.

[YOSHIE]

Internet search about Bitcoin can be misleading for beginners at times

Bitcoin is easy to understand and Bitcoin is difficult to understand, meaning that a beginner if he does not understand the correct system and how Bitcoin works indeed beginners will assume negative bitcoin, that is certain.

What's more he searched on the internet or Google, what he wrote will come out, if he wrote a search about negative, it is certainly negative but if he wrote positive, it is certainly positive, on the internet can write anything about bitcoin, if he sees about laundering money is common news often onDiscover on the internet.

Now back to the OP, save your novice friend first, as long as you receive Bitcoin on sig per week what you feel and as long as you know Bitcoin more negative things you get or positive, You should be able to tell your novice friends, you don't need the internet, what you feel for real bitcoin rather than the internet.

[Kalchef]

Bitcoin can be this difficult to understand if the person isn't ready to put in the work to learn more.

Person OP is reffering to just decide to give up because the Internet search says Bitcoin can be used for criminal activities funding and others, it shows he look at the disadvantages and not the advantages.

It is good that he is a kid, if this is an adult I won't waste my time on him, I will tell him to do more research instead of judging based on the search engine result.

The truth is internet want to make Bitcoin look really bad, and this is the work of the government controlling the engines, what do you think that people like Elizabeth Warren would do if they are given the power? Bitcoin will look so ugly on the Internet than it is presently.

If I have to send a message to the kid it will be the following.

Some bad mothaf**ers want Bitcoin to look extremely bad so that people like you and I won't be able to use it, they want to be in control of everything and they are pissed that something like Bitcoin is giving you and I the power not to be under their control.

[Yablee0]

Not every information seen on the internet or Google space is true, most of them are false especially when it concerns bitcoin matter, or have you forgetting that information displayed on the Google search engine didn't just fell from heaven but was written by human beings, who knows if the writer is not an enthusiast of bitcoin.  Let be aware of the fact that not everyone is happy with bitcoin existence especially the corrupt leaders because of it decentralized features, making currupted leaders to be unable to carry out their dirty activities.

Furthermore, so am not surprised because anything can happen just for them to pull it down which is almost impossible, bitcoin is the solution we have be seeking for and any other blackmail about it is bullshit.

[Pablo-wood]

I remember when I was 14 years old, I'm just playing with my friends, doing my homework, playing video games, doing my hobby, participating in extracurricular and join school competition.

So if I met a little kids who think like that, I will not interfere them.

It's dangerous if they taught economy/bank subject in their school, then they will have an argument against the teacher.

Teenagers of this present age are more privileged than us. People born from 2010 until now have higher comprehensive and engaging mindsets than those before this time, so they tend to grasp concepts quicker and form their own opinions earlier. Unlike past generations who mostly followed a structured path of school, play, and hobbies, today’s young minds have instant access to information, new skills, and global perspectives courtesy of the evolving technologies. This gives them an advantage in terms of creativity, awareness, and adaptability.

[Marykeller]

The internet will provide answers based on what it's asked about a particular thing. That's to say, if I ask the internet about the dark side and the good side of a particular thing, it will provide me with both without missing words.

The thought above made me ask, did you ask your 14-year-old home boy what he asked the internet about Bitcoin? Like if I asked Google about the dark side of Bitcoin, it would provide me with it, which were the points your friend raised on Bitcoin to be used as a tool for illicit activities. On the other hand, if I ask Google about the positive side of Bitcoin, the answer that Google will provide will be a lot, and it will encourage someone to invest in Bitcoin.

What I am trying to say is that the internet provides your friend with the answer he was looking for about Bitcoin. So, talk to your friend about the positive, than leave him to grow with the mentality of Bitcoin dark side, whereas the positive side of Bitcoin overshadows the dark side

[adaseb]

Yeah when I first heard about bitcoin, I also read the same description. But that was over 10 years ago.

Back then there was nothing positive to say about it. It was highly volatile and you could easily lose 90% and it was still used for Silkroad. Banks didn’t want to see you receiving or sending crypto transactions and you had to use those P2P services which can be scary at times depending on who you are meeting.

But that was a decade ago. Now honestly bitcoin is mostly concentrated as an investment and not to move money without borders. A lot of it’s volume is just speculation and many of the volume happens on the stock market and derivatives.

[Beparanf]

Internet is a source of both fake and legit information of anything available in the web. Bitcoin is not immune to that so it’s better to do a fact check through researching to multiple reliable source instead of focusing to 1 or 2 article that spreads negativity and wrong information about Bitcoin.

It’s that newbie is easy to be discouraged once they saw first the fake information that’s why it’s important to guide them back with the right info.

Introduce him to Bitcointalk and let him discuss with member here publicly since every post here undergo to fact check always from reliable member.

[tbct_mt2]

Banks didn’t want to see you receiving or sending crypto transactions and you had to use those P2P services which can be scary at times depending on who you are meeting

Did you mean P2P trades but physically in person?

If it is P2P trade online, it is less risky than physical in person P2P trade as it contains risk of physical attacks. It's the same with both types of P2P trades, as you can be scammed by your trade partner and lose your bitcoin. With in person trade, you will possibly lose your bitcoin and also your life, it's very dangerous.

Dangerous and brutal physical Bitcoin attacks.

Internet is a source of both fake and legit information of anything available in the web. Bitcoin is not immune to that so it’s better to do a fact check through researching to multiple reliable source instead of focusing to 1 or 2 article that spreads negativity and wrong information about Bitcoin.

Information is free to upload to the Internet as people have freedom of speech so there are mixed information on the Internet. Doing research, comparing search results and having proper skills for searching to verify and compare information is important.

It's wrong to instantly believe in what you find and read without cross checking it.

[Plaguedeath]

Yeah.

Honestly I rarely heard financial advisors or medias who talking about invest in stock will make you lose, but I hear more the good news about stock can earn 7% per year. However in my experience, investing in stock was disaster, the stock I invested got delisted from the market lol.

While Bitcoin, it's mostly high risk asset, use for criminal or something that can't be "trusted".

Despite like that, I believe overtime people will learn.

[Btcdeybodi]

Bitcoin is in digital form which means that even if it is used for illicit activities, it's transaction is traceable through the blockchain. Inasmuch as money is concerned, be it in physical or digital form there will be people who will want to use it for bad motives. However, if we are to even compare between bitcoin and fiat which can be used for illegal use i will say that fiats is more vulnerable because it can be stolen and hidden for years without traces since they are in cash. Some greedy politicians have hidden and secret rooms where they hide cash beyond traces. It's not about using money to commit a crime, can it be tracked?

However, i also saw some misconception about bitcoin on the internet but what we need to know is that we should not take information from only one source, it is better to search different sites to know the real truth. We should also know that some information on the internet are filtered so it's not everything that Google and other search engines will give you accurate information of what you want to know.