When I talk to my clients about bitcoin and they ask to see the price, I've been showing the price at xe.com, a site they're familiar with, not bitstamp or kraken or another primary source. Bloomberg is even more well known than xe, so it's good to have another familiar choice to mention to them.
How are people reacting to BTC lately?
I know MtGox did huge damage:
Do you get people who
think BTC went bankrupt, and how about positive reactions?
I'm glad you ask this.
My clients are not necessarily a representative sample of bitcoin users, but it is interesting to note their perceptions of bitcoin. I have investment businesses in several different countries, and each business offers services related to bitcoin—although I do not advertise as such and rely upon word-of-mouth among my client base. All of my clients are either accredited investors (
https://www.sec.gov/answers/accred.htm) such as fund-of-fund managers or high-net worth professionals, such corporate attorneys, surgeons, and industrial engineers.
Although they are very interested in bitcoin and are beginning to better understand it, I encounter these perceptions above all others:
1) Bitcoin is functionally broken or financially broke because of MtGox, so there's no point in using bitcoins anymore. 'I missed the boat.'
2) Satoshi is a Japanese guy that may be Dorian. 'He just invented Bitcoin to make himself rich, so I why should I get involved?'
3) Silk Road was some sort of black market website that was shut down, but criminals still prefer bitcoins instead of dollars. 'I don't want to get involved with crime.'
4) The Winklevoss twins are trying to take Bitcoin mainstream, but they're failing. 'If they can't do it, then why should I bother with bitcoin?'
5) Bitcoins have no inherent value. 'Buffett said so.'
6) Bitcoin is a ponzi scheme. 'Or at least a pyramid scheme. Money comes from the government, anything else is a scam.'
These perceptions are slowly changing, but education about bitcoin is still an enormous hurdle.
I think far more people would use bitcoin if it were better understood.
Pros use Bloomberg terminals, so this is very good news for Bitcoin.
