Investment Become Gambling

[Aventas]

It is impossible to understand everything about bitcoin, which is why we should be more concerned about having a basic understanding and knowledge about bitcoin, and there is no way you will have to know everything before getting started with bitcoin which is why it’s more important to understand bitcoin and start little by little by having the basic knowledge that will push you to get started, then when you have started investing in bitcoin then it’s obvious you know to approach the bitcoin market and learn that it’s not about bitcoin being gambling, I think bitcoin investment can become gambling when we are bitcoin traders instead of bitcoin investors.

It can be a bit intimidating for beginners to know that they don't need to know everything about Bitcoin at the beginning. But I want to know what the basic concept means. It's important to be clear. If we start with the idea that the price will only go up, then it may not go up as expected. That can create panic.

[The Founding Titan]

It is impossible to understand everything about bitcoin, which is why we should be more concerned about having a basic understanding and knowledge about bitcoin, and there is no way you will have to know everything before getting started with bitcoin which is why it’s more important to understand bitcoin and start little by little by having the basic knowledge that will push you to get started, then when you have started investing in bitcoin then it’s obvious you know to approach the bitcoin market and learn that it’s not about bitcoin being gambling, I think bitcoin investment can become gambling when we are bitcoin traders instead of bitcoin investors.

It can be a bit intimidating for beginners to know that they don't need to know everything about Bitcoin at the beginning. But I want to know what the basic concept means. It's important to be clear. If we start with the idea that the price will only go up, then it may not go up as expected. That can create panic.

Volatility, once you know about bitcoin I think one of the first information that you acquire is that the price is never steady, always moving up and down leading to it being high in one moment and low in the next, this is one common attribute of bitcoin that people grap unto very fast and it's easy to know why.

Discretionary income, this one is very important because a lot of people don't understand it so they end up making serious financial mistakes in their attempt to invest in bitcoin, bitcoin investment should always be done with your discretionary income, what is discretionary income? It's what's left from you actual income after you have paid for your essentials, that extra bit of cash that you have to you can afford to lose, one mistake people make is that they think discretionary income is always small which is true for the most part but is not always the case, it can come from your income which is where the impression that it's always small comes from, it can come from a monetary gift you get from someone, it can come from you winning a lottery even or even from an inheritance, it can come from alot of different sources so it's value can vary from small to very big.

Long term investment, usually I wouldn't have to mention this but there are people out there who believe that there is something like short term investment meaning that they can get profit from bitcoin by selling in a relatively short period of time but that's not investment, it's trading. An actual bitcoin investment lasts for at least 1 cycle and for bitcoin a cycle is usually 4 years, understand that I said at least 1 cycle because it's usually not ideal to see your bitcoin after just four years of investing and that's why is some posts you will see 4 to 10. There is really no limit to how long you can hold for, it depends almost entirely on you as an investor.

Don't just buy once as an individual and not buy again, the goal is to own as much bitcoin as possible and the only way to do this is to keep buying as much bitcoin as possible continuously as you hodl.

[OsaiEmma]

Still on these narratives, I think Bitcoin investment can never be referred as gambling, unless if you decide to trade as a day spot trader or future trader who only wanted to predict for short period of time; once the market go against them, they lose money immediately that is why they are referred or compared to gambling.

All long-term Bitcoin holders and investors are not gambling, they are making profit on a long run and they are safe from inflation because Bitcoin retains its value and you will make profit from the investment.

Some people wanted to invest but lack capital, while some people have the same capital but didn’t believe in Bitcoin to invest in, such people are always regretting not investing in Bitcoin when they have the opportunity to do so.

I agree with you on this, Bitcoin investment and investment in general is not gambling, although some people do gamble in their investments, such case in crypto space are; ICO's, Launchpad, memcoins investment, e.t.c, these do have a level of uncertainty and risk factors that we can say it is gambling.

Bitcoin have proved itself for over decades, it's even referred to as a store of value and hedge over inflation, and these are not just mere claims but reality, this alone proves it is not gambling, because the risk factor is small.

Why some people do refer to trading as gambling is because they have similar risk threshold, if you are not skillful enough, and have enough bankroll, you might just loose all your money, but other than that, trading is not exactly gambling. Yes gambling involves risk taking, but not all risk taking are gambling.

[B-BossMan]

It is impossible to understand everything about bitcoin, which is why we should be more concerned about having a basic understanding and knowledge about bitcoin, and there is no way you will have to know everything before getting started with bitcoin which is why it’s more important to understand bitcoin and start little by little by having the basic knowledge that will push you to get started, then when you have started investing in bitcoin then it’s obvious you know to approach the bitcoin market and learn that it’s not about bitcoin being gambling, I think bitcoin investment can become gambling when we are bitcoin traders instead of bitcoin investors.

Good, these are the most important basic things anyone should consider when investing in Bitcoin, alots of people actually delayed themselves before getting started, because they feel they must understand everything from the first place before investment begins, which isn't true. The truth is that, one should just have the basics knowledge or understanding such as how the bitcoin works, it's volatility and also be able to know how profitable the long-term investment is and the risks involved due to market fluctuations, all these are enough for someone to begin the Bitcoin investment journey, and as time goes on, learning continues as you keep investing gradually, however,the majority of people nowadays tends to turning bitcoin into gambling and its a big mistake for them, instead of them to follow a suitable strategy such as DCA, they chase quick profit in order to become rich a day, and keep on investing money they cannot afford to lose. All these approach leafs one into higher loses, due to panic buying and selling. People should focus on long-term growth instead of short-term, but financial discipline and patience matters.

[Joeboy]

It can be a bit intimidating for beginners to know that they don't need to know everything about Bitcoin at the beginning. But I want to know what the basic concept means. It's important to be clear.

Whatever basic concept you seem to be talking about seems very irrelevant to kickstarting your Bitcoin investment...What's important to starting out is majorly your discretionary income and some level of awareness which can enable you to understand your financial situation, so as to effectively determine the amount that you can comfortably afford to invest..

If we start with the idea that the price will only go up, then it may not go up as expected. That can create panic.

Whatever mentality you start out with can be very well corrected as you go on with your investment and experience volatility in Bitcoin... That's why I don't really like placing much importance on folks having a well perfect mindset before starting out.... And when Bitcoin is concerned the price dosen't just move in one particular upward pattern, there are times it also goes down as well, and that is why Bitcoin is usually considered as a very volatile asset... But then again folks cannot get to understand this volatility by only reading and/or delaying their investment, rather this volatility is better understood by active participation i.e by getting involved in Bitcoin accumulation...

[Frankolala]

It can be a bit intimidating for beginners to know that they don't need to know everything about Bitcoin at the beginning. But I want to know what the basic concept means. It's important to be clear. If we start with the idea that the price will only go up, then it may not go up as expected. That can create panic.

The basic knowledge of bitcoin are

Invest with only the amount of money that you can afford to lose.

Have a long-term bitcoin investment mindset because bitcoin is a long-term investment

Bitcoin is volatile in nature and know that we have bear and bull run. So that incase you started buying during the bear market, you wouldn't panic that much to the point of selling.

Where to buy your bitcoin from and how to buy bitcoin.

[Showlove01]

It is impossible to understand everything about bitcoin, which is why we should be more concerned about having a basic understanding and knowledge about bitcoin, and there is no way you will have to know everything before getting started with bitcoin which is why it’s more important to understand bitcoin and start little by little by having the basic knowledge that will push you to get started, then when you have started investing in bitcoin then it’s obvious you know to approach the bitcoin market and learn that it’s not about bitcoin being gambling, I think bitcoin investment can become gambling when we are bitcoin traders instead of bitcoin investors.

It can be a bit intimidating for beginners to know that they don't need to know everything about Bitcoin at the beginning. But I want to know what the basic concept means. It's important to be clear. If we start with the idea that the price will only go up, then it may not go up as expected. That can create panic.

Why would it be intimidating when that is how everyone started their investment in Bitcoin and newbie who is feeling intimidated about this is not ready to start the journey yet. Bitcoin is something we can not fully understand and tell how it will behave all the time and that is why even people who trade it keep on making losses because it is very complex but when you want to accumulate and hold for a long time you don't really need all these knowledge and stress. Knowing that Bitcoin is a volatile asset and also has the potential to do well in the future and the method to use in accumulating it, is more than enough to know for a start.

[Yorubek]

It is impossible to understand everything about bitcoin, which is why we should be more concerned about having a basic understanding and knowledge about bitcoin, and there is no way you will have to know everything before getting started with bitcoin which is why it’s more important to understand bitcoin and start little by little by having the basic knowledge that will push you to get started, then when you have started investing in bitcoin then it’s obvious you know to approach the bitcoin market and learn that it’s not about bitcoin being gambling, I think bitcoin investment can become gambling when we are bitcoin traders instead of bitcoin investors.

It can be a bit intimidating for beginners to know that they don't need to know everything about Bitcoin at the beginning. But I want to know what the basic concept means. It's important to be clear. If we start with the idea that the price will only go up, then it may not go up as expected. That can create panic.

Why would it be intimidating when that is how everyone started their investment in Bitcoin and newbie who is feeling intimidated about this is not ready to start the journey yet. Bitcoin is something we can not fully understand and tell how it will behave all the time and that is why even people who trade it keep on making losses because it is very complex but when you want to accumulate and hold for a long time you don't really need all these knowledge and stress. Knowing that Bitcoin is a volatile asset and also has the potential to do well in the future and the method to use in accumulating it, is more than enough to know for a start.

Bitcoin behavior understanding is really complicated, the price of Bitcoin fluctuates so rapidly that it is challenging to predict when its value will increase or decrease. I think investing with a long-term plan is the best decision rather than trading. The chances of success through trading are very low, it looks very easy from a distance but in reality achieving success through trading is very complicated and difficult. From my point of view, long-term investment is the best. Along with acquiring the right knowledge, we need to buy Bitcoin and hold it for the long term. We should not get disappointed quickly. It is possible to achieve future success by holding it for the long term with confidence.

[ZeroVinsonN]

It is impossible to understand everything about bitcoin, which is why we should be more concerned about having a basic understanding and knowledge about bitcoin, and there is no way you will have to know everything before getting started with bitcoin which is why it’s more important to understand bitcoin and start little by little by having the basic knowledge that will push you to get started, then when you have started investing in bitcoin then it’s obvious you know to approach the bitcoin market and learn that it’s not about bitcoin being gambling, I think bitcoin investment can become gambling when we are bitcoin traders instead of bitcoin investors.

It can be a bit intimidating for beginners to know that they don't need to know everything about Bitcoin at the beginning. But I want to know what the basic concept means. It's important to be clear. If we start with the idea that the price will only go up, then it may not go up as expected. That can create panic.

Why would it be intimidating when that is how everyone started their investment in Bitcoin and newbie who is feeling intimidated about this is not ready to start the journey yet. Bitcoin is something we can not fully understand and tell how it will behave all the time and that is why even people who trade it keep on making losses because it is very complex but when you want to accumulate and hold for a long time you don't really need all these knowledge and stress. Knowing that Bitcoin is a volatile asset and also has the potential to do well in the future and the method to use in accumulating it, is more than enough to know for a start.

Bitcoin behavior understanding is really complicated, the price of Bitcoin fluctuates so rapidly that it is challenging to predict when its value will increase or decrease. I think investing with a long-term plan is the best decision rather than trading. The chances of success through trading are very low, it looks very easy from a distance but in reality achieving success through trading is very complicated and difficult. From my point of view, long-term investment is the best. Along with acquiring the right knowledge, we need to buy Bitcoin and hold it for the long term. We should not get disappointed quickly. It is possible to achieve future success by holding it for the long term with confidence.

There is no need to try and predict bitcoin price movement or even try to understand bitcoin's behaviour, this is usually where so many people make mistakes, somethings are just out of our control, we can not predict what's going to happen next with bitcoin, we can hope for things to work out in our favour but that's all we can do, rather than trying to predict, study and understand how bitcoin price moves we can spend all that time investing in bitcoin instead, it has a good track record and although nothing is guaranteed the chances of succeeding are are favourable enough.

[TokenTikas]

It is emphatically obvious that some are investing and seeing it as gambling, well we still have some that do gamble and have the wrong mentality that what they are doing is an investment and they must earn from it, loss of priority from what is expected of us is very common especially when we Gamble...

Some people are being referred to here, especially those who trade futures. If you compare futures trading to gambling, it won’t really be wrong, because just like gambling, there is no guarantee of winning or losing. The same thing happens in futures trading. There are also some sarcastic-minded people who keep criticizing bitcoin and try to discourage investors and most of this kind of random talk usually comes from them. But those who still compare bitcoin to a casino are simply not thinking straight.

Some people wanted to invest but lack capital, while some people have the same capital but didn’t believe in Bitcoin to invest in, such people are always regretting not investing in Bitcoin when they have the opportunity to do so.

There are people who had the capital before but failed to invest in bitcoin. Because of that, they are left with regret and till today they still can’t bring themselves to invest or make profit from it. For them, it’s mostly regret and constant criticism of bitcoin that they hold on to.

On the other hand, there are people who didn’t have the money before but already knew about bitcoin and really wanted to invest. Once they are able to overcome their financial struggles, they eventually invest and later make profit. They couldn’t invest when they had nothing, but now that they have the means, they are doing it. For such people, bitcoin feels like a real blessing.

[Sim_card]

Some people are being referred to here, especially those who trade futures. If you compare futures trading to gambling, it won’t really be wrong, because just like gambling, there is no guarantee of winning or losing. The same thing happens in futures trading. There are also some sarcastic-minded people who keep criticizing bitcoin and try to discourage investors and most of this kind of random talk usually comes from them. But those who still compare bitcoin to a casino are simply not thinking straight.

Any form of trading is gambling be it future trading or other type of trading because you are after quick profit and that's not investing because it will turn around to back fire you and you will run at loss.

Bitcoin investment is a long-term investment and not a short-term thing, therefore when you go in contrary to how bitcoin investment should be done, you are gambling with your funds. A brand new investor should avoid anything like trading but focus on a long term investment and buy bitcoin consistently to keep his bitcoin accumulation ongoing with DCA till he reaches his bitcoin target so that be wouldn't distract himself on his mission.

[yixichloro2xx]

It can be a bit intimidating for beginners to know that they don't need to know everything about Bitcoin at the beginning. But I want to know what the basic concept means. It's important to be clear. If we start with the idea that the price will only go up, then it may not go up as expected. That can create panic.

The basic knowledge of bitcoin are

Invest with only the amount of money that you can afford to lose.

Have a long-term bitcoin investment mindset because bitcoin is a long-term investment

Bitcoin is volatile in nature and know that we have bear and bull run. So that incase you started buying during the bear market, you wouldn't panic that much to the point of selling.

Where to buy your bitcoin from and how to buy bitcoin.

You made a nice point, at times another thing that people often overlook is how they behave after they buy. Knowing about volatility or should I say price movements is one thing, but actually staying calm when price drops is different. Currently Bitcoin is going through some bearish period which it often does historically and people who tend to react with it emotionally are the ones who losses. It is also better to know how to actually hold and manage your own Bitcoin. If you don't and let someone else keep it for you then you relying on their rules and system not your own control.

[laijsica]

You may be right in saying that it is very important for an investor to impose mental and behavioral control on him in terms of investment. It is also undeniable that if you do a lot of research to gain knowledge about the market and practice different investment methods, it can create a mindset. Such an attitude creates a tendency towards diversification for many. Gaining experience in fund management plays an important role. Some inexperienced investors make long term plans through discretionary income by gaining basic knowledge about Bitcoin and they are regular in accumulation Bitcoin but as soon as they learn about other tempting items/coins in the market they become curious about them and they buy them and risk their capital.

It is good to gain knowledge about the market but here mindset and behavioral issues are very important because some investors show a tempting attitude in the proper use of their available funds or in fund management and this creates investment risks for them.

You may have been successful by starting to invest in Bitcoin but your friend was under the wrong motivation by overanalyzing the market as a result of which he gradually made mistakes and gambled with his capital. There is a behavioral issue involved here because many investors are experienced and they show skill in managing funds but some have experience but they want to earn more profits in a short time and are misguided.

[samadam007]

It is impossible to understand everything about bitcoin, which is why we should be more concerned about having a basic understanding and knowledge about bitcoin, and there is no way you will have to know everything before getting started with bitcoin which is why it’s more important to understand bitcoin and start little by little by having the basic knowledge that will push you to get started, then when you have started investing in bitcoin then it’s obvious you know to approach the bitcoin market and learn that it’s not about bitcoin being gambling, I think bitcoin investment can become gambling when we are bitcoin traders instead of bitcoin investors.

It can be a bit intimidating for beginners to know that they don't need to know everything about Bitcoin at the beginning. But I want to know what the basic concept means. It's important to be clear. If we start with the idea that the price will only go up, then it may not go up as expected. That can create panic.

Expecting Bitcoin price to only go up is exactly what creates the panic you're warning about. Many beginners get drawn in by the "number go up" idea. They buy high on hype, price corrects then they panic and sell at the bottom and lose big.

The real fix for beginners isn't pretending price always rises; it's understanding Bitcoin can drop sharply. Therefore, only invest what you can afford to hold through that fluctuation without emotional decisions.

This mindset reduces panic, because you won't be shocked when it happens.

[Crytohillss]

You may be right in saying that it is very important for an investor to impose mental and behavioral control on him in terms of investment. It is also undeniable that if you do a lot of research to gain knowledge about the market and practice different investment methods, it can create a mindset. Such an attitude creates a tendency towards diversification for many. Gaining experience in fund management plays an important role. Some inexperienced investors make long term plans through discretionary income by gaining basic knowledge about Bitcoin and they are regular in accumulation Bitcoin but as soon as they learn about other tempting items/coins in the market they become curious about them and they buy them and risk their capital.

It is good to gain knowledge about the market but here mindset and behavioral issues are very important because some investors show a tempting attitude in the proper use of their available funds or in fund management and this creates investment risks for them.

You may have been successful by starting to invest in Bitcoin but your friend was under the wrong motivation by overanalyzing the market as a result of which he gradually made mistakes and gambled with his capital. There is a behavioral issue involved here because many investors are experienced and they show skill in managing funds but some have experience but they want to earn more profits in a short time and are misguided.

I think the real challenge is sticking to a plan when emotions kick where things are wrong or fear when they are dropping that's where many individuals loss track and begin making impulsive decisions even so many people with experience can still fall into that trap if they chasing quick gains self control seem to matter more than constantly jumping between opportunities. Especially about the behavioral side of investment A lot of folks underestimate how much mindset matters compared to just knowing the market.

[Inior]

I think the real challenge is sticking to a plan when emotions kick where things are wrong or fear when they are dropping that's where many individuals loss track and begin making impulsive decisions even so many people with experience can still fall into that trap if they chasing quick gains self control seem to matter more than constantly jumping between opportunities. Especially about the behavioral side of investment A lot of folks underestimate how much mindset matters compared to just knowing the market.

Talking about self control, it's only easier to stick to plan when you already have a discipline that you don't compromise(investing from your discretionary income). Now imagine investing $10 weekly from your discretionary income, even when the dip happens you'll not give a fuck because $40 monthly is something you can spend on drink without feeling the effect of spending. So sticking to the plans means not compromising your beliefs and the way you see things. Nothing is guaranteed and that's why we shouldn't do beyond our capabilities in the first place, even the dip is not guaranteed to remain for long so why focus too much on the negative things.

[The Founding Titan]

It is impossible to understand everything about bitcoin, which is why we should be more concerned about having a basic understanding and knowledge about bitcoin, and there is no way you will have to know everything before getting started with bitcoin which is why it’s more important to understand bitcoin and start little by little by having the basic knowledge that will push you to get started, then when you have started investing in bitcoin then it’s obvious you know to approach the bitcoin market and learn that it’s not about bitcoin being gambling, I think bitcoin investment can become gambling when we are bitcoin traders instead of bitcoin investors.

It can be a bit intimidating for beginners to know that they don't need to know everything about Bitcoin at the beginning. But I want to know what the basic concept means. It's important to be clear. If we start with the idea that the price will only go up, then it may not go up as expected. That can create panic.

Expecting Bitcoin price to only go up is exactly what creates the panic you're warning about. Many beginners get drawn in by the "number go up" idea. They buy high on hype, price corrects then they panic and sell at the bottom and lose big.

The real fix for beginners isn't pretending price always rises; it's understanding Bitcoin can drop sharply. Therefore, only invest what you can afford to hold through that fluctuation without emotional decisions.

This mindset reduces panic, because you won't be shocked when it happens.

Bitcoin has always been a volatile asset, it's usually when people forget about this that they end up not being able to handle price DIPs, when you as a person decides to invest in bitcoin it is expected that you should already know about it's volatility, if bitcoin wasn't volatile then how exactly it's the price expected to go up? Even land can be a volatile asset under certain conditions and this is one of the oldest assets around, expecting that the price of bitcoin will continuously go up without ever experiencing downward trends isn't just naïvity, it also actually speaks of greed too.

[Cgrexp]

Expecting Bitcoin price to only go up is exactly what creates the panic you're warning about. Many beginners get drawn in by the "number go up" idea. They buy high on hype, price corrects then they panic and sell at the bottom and lose big.

The real fix for beginners isn't pretending price always rises; it's understanding Bitcoin can drop sharply. Therefore, only invest what you can afford to hold through that fluctuation without emotional decisions.

This mindset reduces panic, because you won't be shocked when it happens.

Many new investors are attracted to the idea that prices will increase and focus on short-term profits. But when they actually enter the market and suffer financial losses when the market falls, they panic. Therefore, one should never make decisions only thinking about profits. Prices can go up as well as down, and those who are aware of this fact enter the market prepared and try to make rational decisions without making emotional decisions. However, whether one invests in the short term or in the long term, one should invest with an amount of money that an investor can afford to lose.

[Money bag]

Year 2023. I started investing in Bitcoin. The market has fluctuated many times until now. However, I have always had a long-term goal. Although I had to sell once due to circumstances, but I started investing again.

However, a few weeks after my investment, a close friend of mine also started investing. He also talked about long-term investment. Our goals were similar. However, even though the goals were the same, our behavior was not the same over time, and this is where the difference between investment and gambling was created.

He start take profits when price increased. After doing this a few times, he started monitoring the market regularly and analyzing the opinions of YouTube and Telegram. At one point, he started making decisions with the market fluctuations. Sometimes he would buy out of FOMO and sometimes he would sell out of panic. In this way, he would make profits at times and sometimes he would lose.

 Even when I warned him about such behavior, he  misunderstand me that maybe I did not want to let him make a profit.
However, at one point, after significant financial loss, he realized his mistake. The problem was in his behavior.  He had the ability to continue investing well in the long term and even though he started investing with this intention, due to his inability to control his behavior, the investment turned into a gamble. 

Do you think that mental and behavioral control are similar important with financial management, risk management  in investing?

✨

We need to be able to control our impulses as Human beings, we all want to eventually be able to take profit from our investment but we should never start treating our investment like a gamble, especially with bitcoin, your friend effectively became a bitcoin trader even though he had initially intended on being a bitcoin investor and this happened because he let the profit he was getting get to his head and he started taking desperate measures to make sure that profit kept coming, it's good that he finally came to his senses in the end, it's not effectively up to you to make sure he doesn't lose his way again, If he can successfully bring himself to hold then he will be at a better position, standing a better chance to actually make profit as long as he keeps accumulating and holding. It will only take time.

[DubemIfedigbo001]

Some out there are like this after hearing about bitcoin for years they still have not get them self started with the lest sats by weekly or either monthly buys in regular set up plan.

They are still waiting to buy but the real deal is that you do not wait to buy bitcoin but you instead buy and wait by holding your BTC for a long duration of appreciable years. Can be 6 to 10 years of investment holding towards it maturity .

Some out there are like that, but the majority of people we have are not the ones looking to grab all the information they need first, as the information won't cost them anything,

What is the essence of wanting to grab the information about Bitcoin investment when they can't even invest? For me I just see it as a waste of time and If I figure out that the person I'm teaching about Bitcoin investment didn't even have the intention to invest into Bitcoin probably just trying to force words out from my mouth I will just let them be because there's no need of wasting my time to teach someone who is not even interested to invest or planning to start anytime soon because even though you teach them about Bitcoin investment that moment they will still forget it and still come back to you maybe when they finally make up their mind to invest.

If someone approaches you for some information on bitcoin, you can hand over some from a neutral standpoint and not sugar coat words. That person may just be about developing interest in bitcoin and the best you can do is hand over to him the basic knowledge required to start investing but make it clear that it is their decision to to make and not yours. There is no point holding back information because you think the person isn't ready to start immediately since you don't know their plans and they may be projecting to start the next month, 2 months or thereabout when they have spare funds from an increased income and/or you may be saving them from using funds meant for their expenses to invest if you make it clear to them that they've to use only their discretionary income.
You're privileged to be here but others aren't and you received the info you know freely from here, so you should as well share it readily with others when they are genuine people and indicates interest in bitcoin.

I was going to say a similar thing to Iroh, and he has been registered on the forum since May 2022, yet perhaps he has been thinking about bitcoin for the whole time that he has been registered here, yet he has been and continues to be failing/refusing to get the fuck started..  

So then, nearly 4 years and has he started to buy bitcoin yet?  if not?  when is he going to start?  He does not seem to be in a good place to be giving advice, if he has not yet started investing into bitcoin.

If Iroh had started investing $100 per week into bitcoin starting in May 2022 until now, then he would have nearly 4 years investing into bitcoin, and he would have had invested right around $20k into bitcoin, and he would have had accumulated right around 0.5 BTC, which would be a really great place to be right now based on $20k invested over a little less than 4 years.

I think that a lot of normal people would like to be in a place as to have had gotten themselves of holding 0.5 BTC for some thing like $20k invested over a little less than 4 years..

I agree with the sentiment that you can't truly understand Bitcoin until you own some. There’s a psychological shift that happens when you move from observer to holder.
If Iroh had just started with even $10 or $20 a week back in 2022, the technical hurdles (wallets, seed phrases, etc.) would be second nature by now. Analysis paralysis is the biggest portfolio killer. Better to be a clueless buyer in a bear market than a genius observer watching the ship sail from the shore.

What then happens after the bear market? Do you stop buying? Is it not better to be intentional about your bitcoin investment journey rather than being clueless?
Of course it is better to be consistent in your regular buys than buying only during the bear market. Investors should strive for their regular buys not to be seasonal, but consistent over a longer period to build out a descent bitcoin portfolio for themselves

It is also important that the investor has an idea of what he is doing and how to go about it rightly, I do not buy into the clueless buying because if you're clueless, you may as well be going about it in the wrong way and may be using money for your projected expenses to buy and when it is time to undertake such expenses, you'll cash in your portfolio and as well end up like the friend described in the OP.

It is important that you are buying and also very important that you know how to buy rightly like buying from part of your discretionary income and building backup funds simultaneously in the process so you'll have more financial options not to tap into your portfolio in case of emergencies. It is also good having an accumulation target and not taking short-term profits.