What is the biggest mistake new Bitcoin users make?

[xiamin]

I'm curious to hear from people who have been around Bitcoin for a while.
What do you think is the biggest mistake new Bitcoin users make, and what would you tell someone to do differently❓

It could be about security, self-custody, buying Bitcoin, scams, fees, or simply misunderstanding how Bitcoin works. What’s one mistake you made yourself when you were new that you wish you had avoided❓

I think hearing real experiences would be more useful than just reading general advice.

The mistake I made initially was storing Bitcoin on exchanges because it was easier to buy Bitcoin with fiat and keep it there. Later, I learned about non-custodial wallets and transferred my Bitcoin holdings there. It was only after I learned that keeping Bitcoin holdings on exchanges was not safe that I made the decision to transfer Bitcoin.

This was a mistake for me in the initial stage and it was good to be corrected later because Bitcoin is a digital and valuable asset and it is more reasonable to keep this asset in a safe place.

Another mistake was not being able to understand trading and investing initially but I now know that trading is risky and long-term investment is best.

[uneng]

I remember my first and biggest mistake was to believe in offers of investments which weren't legit (ponzi schemes). They promoted their services as cloud mining operations, offering quite decent returns in a real time, daily, weekly or monthly basis. Since Bitcoin was something new for me and I didn't have any experience on this matter, I thought the innovation of Bitcoin could really allow such investments to be profitable that way.

However, they weren't and I had to learn the hard way by losing money on platforms of that kind.

[qurbanshah02]

In my opinion, newbies make mistakes because they don't know about Bitcoin. Many newbies get the wrong idea from social media campaigns or some other way that Bitcoin is a way to get rich overnight. So they buy with all their money and later sell out of fear when the price drops a little. Although I haven't made this mistake as a newbie. But I think many newbies make these mistakes and they can even get involved in shitcoins. Although the issue of security is certainly important, it's not a problem if a newbie doesn't know self-custody. The problem is not trying to learn. Because newbies can start with small amounts on exchanges even if they want to and continue learning at the same time.

Mistakes always make ways for increasing knowledge and also having improvement in skills because without mistakes its never been easy to understand and having better results in future no doubt newbies always done more mistakes because they are never been aware about all things while working without any help of guides make things difficult. During my early days I also made a few mistakes and now still pay for them because it's not allowed for me to have the same level and things that I was having a few years back.
I lost enough funds in exchange and then was trapped in one scammer project, the biggest thing that completely ruined my life. Now, after years and years, I'm still not able to do what I was doing in my early days because big losses make life unbalanced, and after this, Covid and recession increased problems. Now I have my lessons but never have an opportunity like I was expecting through my early days.

If we are relearning something, then either it is our mistake or we are doing it to make it better.  Making mistakes is not a bad thing because mistakes are what move a person forward, but in all of them, making mistakes in Bitcoin is based on our learning about what we have learned about Bitcoin and how we are using it.  If you have understood, then this is a very good thing and in all of this, if you can give yourself a good position, then I encourage you so that you do not suffer from further mistakes but go towards profit and avoid these mistakes.  If you have the courage and strength to rise, then you will get out of this difficulty and become like a before.   Actually, there are many projects in crypto that are made to trap anyone, you should be careful with them.

[Razmirraz]

I once messed up big time. I ignored backing up my seed phrase and almost lost everything. Luckily it wasn't my main wallet. I also tried active trading, but that actually caused me to lose some money due to poor market timing. That taught me 2 things: keep it simple and be patient. That’s how you survive Bitcoin. 

Another common mistake made by new users is storing assets on an exchange. Leaving assets in the hands of a third party is strongly discouraged, as it exposes them to risks such as platform bankruptcy or hacking. New users need to learn the basics first: how to secure your seed, how to self-custody, and think long term. Bitcoin is savings, not a lottery ticket or to get rich overnight.

[bakasabo]

The biggest mistake that every bitcoin user make is selling early. That is usually achieved under influence of greed, panic, lack of experience, not having investment plan (a person dont set a goal when he wants to sell, he just sell because emotions hit him). Such mistake do both new and experienced users. I am also the one who has made it. I have sold bitcoin because of emotions, held stable coins or fiat, and did nothing with that money.

[Bluedrem]

When I started buying Bitcoin, I didn't have to worry much about the method of protection but I was a bit confused about the investment process, one of which was about creating an investment fund. Initially, I thought it could be a long-term investment process so I started investing the money I needed in other sectors here but when I saw that it was not profitable for me, I gave up short-term investment. Now I try to invest using my discretionary capital so that I can hold my Bitcoin portfolio for a long time. I think newbies also make the same mistake like me, they misidentify the investment fund and cannot hold the portfolio after the investment.

[tbct_mt2]

When I started buying Bitcoin, I didn't have to worry much about the method of protection but I was a bit confused about the investment process, one of which was about creating an investment fund. Initially, I thought it could be a long-term investment process so I started investing the money I needed in other sectors here but when I saw that it was not profitable for me, I gave up short-term investment.

Before, when and after buying bitcoin, you must think of how to store your bitcoin.
Where will you plan to store your bitcoin?
In custodial wallets on centralized exchanges with your accounts there.
In non custodial wallets, and you have full private key control.

The reminder about risk of centralized exchanges, online platforms, and accounts without private keys for you, and recommendation to use non custodial wallets.
Reminder: do not keep your money in online accounts.

Now I try to invest using my discretionary capital so that I can hold my Bitcoin portfolio for a long time. I think newbies also make the same mistake like me, they misidentify the investment fund and cannot hold the portfolio after the investment.

It's another thing: how to prepare your finance, manage your finance, control risk, and manage your investment capital. If newbies want to learn about this, some threads but reading OPs are enough in such big threads with many posts.
Buy the DIP, and HODL!
Buy Buy Buy or Sell Sell Sell?
JJG’s Outline of Bitcoin Investment Ideas

[Rockstarguy]

I'm curious to hear from people who have been around Bitcoin for a while.
What do you think is the biggest mistake new Bitcoin users make, and what would you tell someone to do differently❓

It could be about security, self-custody, buying Bitcoin, scams, fees, or simply misunderstanding how Bitcoin works. What’s one mistake you made yourself when you were new that you wish you had avoided❓

I think hearing real experiences would be more useful than just reading general advice.

One of the mistakes people make with Bitcoin is having the misconception that it can make one rich quickly. As a result, some people invest all the money they have or borrow to invest, which is a grave mistake that ends in loss and regret.

Other mistakes, such as issues with wallets and security, can be corrected because not everyone has an understanding of these aspects when they first learn about Bitcoin. However, as a beginner, the mistake of thinking Bitcoin will make one rich quickly should not be the way to approach it, due to the consequences that may follow.

[MisFoxie]

I'm curious to hear from people who have been around Bitcoin for a while.
What do you think is the biggest mistake new Bitcoin users make, and what would you tell someone to do differently❓

It could be about security, self-custody, buying Bitcoin, scams, fees, or simply misunderstanding how Bitcoin works. What’s one mistake you made yourself when you were new that you wish you had avoided❓

I think hearing real experiences would be more useful than just reading general advice.

If I consider myself a new person in Bitcoin then I would definitely avoid buying Bitcoin aggressively. When I was just starting out I had quite a lot of losses from trading because I didn’t understand much at that time. As soon as I started having a small loss I would sell and later I would see that the Bitcoin price had gone up again. I had a lot of losses this way.

I think it is extremely important to avoid FOMO. Suppose when Bitcoin was at 120k+ those who bought then have their balance now at half. But those who buy now when Bitcoin reaches ATH again, they will make double the profit while those who bought before will just recover their losses. But those who take trades through DCA are different because when you take trades through DCA the Bitcoin buying rate comes to an average.

[Muskanrani]

I give  adviced new traders that never buy that tokens whose adds are coming very much in fact before buying any token completely search about it and see its use case and try to know that what is the purpose of making this token do not buy this token without any search or on someone's recommendation .
 
 Some years ago it has been seems in market that coin creaters spend a lot of money on advertising their coin when new traders buy the coin the companies take out their money and sell from the top after that new buyers had to face heavy loses .

[suzanne5223]

Based on the mistake i made as a newbie when i joined the crypto space, i believe the major mistakes newbies make are
1. Not understanding the benefits and not having adequate knowledge of the "Not your keys, not your coins"
2. Treating Bitcoin as a short-term gain asset. This is the reason why people like myself sold BTC in 2017 with the belief that I made some profit, while the best profit is holding for the longterm.
3. Ignoring the reading of the basic security/TOS of the crypto platform or wallet they choose to use.
4. Not understanding that anything that's just too good to be true is technically a scam. This makes them victims of scams, fake giveaways, etc.
5. Downloading random wallet apps, or connecting their wallet to shady sites.
6. Writing their wallet seed phrase in a note app, taking a screenshot, storing it in email/cloud, or sharing it with an exchange or shady support.

[Felicity_Tide]

The biggest mistake that every bitcoin user make is selling early.

That's kinda true, and I think it's as a result of them coming into the system with too many expectations. Though, having good expectations is not really bad, but failing to accept the ugly side of volatility makes the expectations questionable especially when trying to figure out if they plan on sticking around for long or short term. But again, this might not necessarily be a general thing among new bitcoin users, because you can certainly agree that there are people who are always relaxed, and naturally comfortable with seeing how things tends to play out in a long run even when they're are not used to whatever they're trying out for the first time, though they're very rare to find.

[Female King]

The biggest mistake that every bitcoin user make is selling early. That is usually achieved under influence of greed, panic, lack of experience, not having investment plan (a person dont set a goal when he wants to sell, he just sell because emotions hit him). Such mistake do both new and experienced users. I am also the one who has made it. I have sold bitcoin because of emotions, held stable coins or fiat, and did nothing with that money.

We still have long time holders people who has accumulated enough bitcoin and hold more than 7-10 years and are still holding so i didn't think it's every bitcoin user that sell their bitcoin early. Selling early is really a mistake most investors do, some came to the market with the idea to trade by targetting the market to sell when the price do some little numbers, but most of them always regret it for selling too soon because the profit they would have make would have been bigger than what they got when they sold early, some of them has even sold at lost due to fear of the price of bitcoin getting more dip.

[fredericktaylor]

I'm curious to hear from people who have been around Bitcoin for a while.
What do you think is the biggest mistake new Bitcoin users make, and what would you tell someone to do differently❓

It could be about security, self-custody, buying Bitcoin, scams, fees, or simply misunderstanding how Bitcoin works. What’s one mistake you made yourself when you were new that you wish you had avoided❓

I think hearing real experiences would be more useful than just reading general advice.

I have noticed that most new investors quickly get frustrated with the volatility of the market and sell all their Bitcoins, resulting in losses. The impact of market volatility on an investor is when the investor invests with a short-term plan to get rich quick without having basic knowledge about Bitcoin. As a result, during the volatility of the market, they lose disappointed and sell Bitcoin, resulting in losses.

When I first started investing in Bitcoin, I quickly became disappointed with the volatility of the market and thought that there was no guarantee that the price of Bitcoin would increase again, which was a loss and it would be better to sell what was left quickly. This was mainly due to my limited knowledge about Bitcoin, which quickly made me disappointed with the volatility of Bitcoin and I could not hold Bitcoin for a long time. However, when the price of Bitcoin started to increase slowly again, I started to regret that I would not have faced losses if I had held it for a while. The more we research about Bitcoin, the more confident we will be, so we will be able to hold Bitcoin patiently without panicking during market volatility.

[Hamza2424]

However, I still feel lucky they pointed me to this forum and learned more about them, including mining BTC and mining other coins.
Those are my newbie mistakes. I was attracted to cloud mining offers and investments that need to be avoided nowadays because there's no investment or cloud mining site that's legit except the offer from Binance and renting service from miningrigrentals.

Facuets used to be a good source of making some sats, but not good money. These cloud mining platforms were really a thing and I used to think most of the time that how my hardware resources are being used by a pool that is not here and sits somewhere else. There were many things in the start that worked and people might have made money but this was not one of them.

I was attracted to offers made by people in Telegram, I had this idea that they can be scammers but I tested with small amount first and then more and more until it became big and they were also giving me profits, but in the end they scammed me. So I realized they can even risk their own money on us to take more from us. They were phishing me not with just words but with real money haha.

[Stepstowealth]

What do you think is the biggest mistake new Bitcoin users make, and what would you tell someone to do differently❓

New Bitcoin users have different mistakes that they consider the biggest mistakes they've made in their journey in cryptocurrency but it's a good thing that you've been able to summarize majority of the mistakes that are commonly made by this new Bitcoin users because having the knowledge of them and the awareness to avoid them or be conscious about them helps you avoid losses and mistakes that you yourself could make.

It could be about security, self-custody, buying Bitcoin, scams, fees, or simply misunderstanding how Bitcoin works.

These are the common reoccurring mistakes, and knowledge of these mistakes can help you avoid making them, that is, not every person in bitcoin must make these mistakes again on their own if they are able to learn well from others with the mistakes. Mistakes and error can be avoided.

[uchegod-21]

One mistake I think newbies make a lot is not treating security risks as something very important. When some of us learnt about Bitcoin, we saw an asset that is a store of value. The focus was mainly on that very aspect of Bitcoin. When we talk about the risks, many only see volatility as the major thing they should watch out for. They don't know that using the wrong wallet is risky. Downloading a compromised wallet is risky, a compromised device is risky, public Wi-Fi is risky, careless backup is risky, letting people know that you own Bitcoin is risky, using a hot wallet is risky, and many other risky things they do not know about owning Bitcoin. I would advise all newbies to give the same priority they give to sourcing for money to buy Bitcoin to learning how to secure their Bitcoin from theft.

[Gost ms]

I'm curious to hear from people who have been around Bitcoin for a while.
What do you think is the biggest mistake new Bitcoin users make, and what would you tell someone to do differently❓

It could be about security, self-custody, buying Bitcoin, scams, fees, or simply misunderstanding how Bitcoin works. What’s one mistake you made yourself when you were new that you wish you had avoided❓

I think hearing real experiences would be more useful than just reading general advice.

The thing I have noticed in many cases and I myself have made mistakes here is finding the right knowledge and the right teacher. For example, if a person teaches you about Bitcoin in the beginning and if he tells you the direction of trading, then you will definitely be attracted to trading and start trading. So, it is necessary to consider a person as a teacher in the beginning who will provide you with the right knowledge and take you forward in the right and less risky way.

I have seen many people around me who started with trading and faced a lot of losses after starting and at the last moment they started calling Bitcoin a scam. If they had gained knowledge about investing from the beginning and started investing and moved away from trading, then they might never have faced such a day. Every new person needs to do enough research about him while choosing a teacher in the beginning because a wrong decision can cause a big loss to your financial situation.

[Dareo]

-snip-

My biggest mistake was to focus more on altcoins than Bitcoin at first. Because I thought that if I entered small coins, I would make a lot of profit faster than Bitcoin, since altcoins pump a lot more, so I gradually shifted my focus from Bitcoin to altcoins. I made some profit, but later I realized that I was taking too much risk in the hope of profit. Many altcoins can fall even more than Bitcoin if the market is bad. Now if someone asks me for advice for beginners, I would say first understand Bitcoin well. Before going to Altcoins, at least understand what risk you are actually taking. When the market creates hype, the safest strategy in the long run is to buy Bitcoin slowly and systematically, without pouring all the money into it at once, without suffering from FOMO.

[CryptopreneurBrainboss]

I think hearing real experiences would be more useful than just reading general advice.

Thinking their late to the party (invest in Bitcoin) when the party is just beginning that's the biggest mistake for me. I made the same mistake about 10 years ago as then I thought the price was too high so I looked for alternatives and I got burned so bad as I see newbies making the same mistake now which I know if they do, they will get the same experience.

It's never too late to invest in Bitcoin irrespective of what the price is as if you give yourself a decade time frame minimum for hodling the outcome will be astonishing. Don't chase those shiny distractions you see in the market because there will always be another one but only one Bitcoin.

Don't waste your years accumulating trash because regardless of the profit you make you can't compare it to what it could've been if that was in Bitcoin.