Scared of Bitcoin?

Scared of Bitcoin? ...Why?

4/28/2020

Why is it that so many people shy away from Bitcoin and everything that it is associated with?
A less than 3 minute read.
See disclaimer in the end.

When you say the word Bitcoin, many will simply turn a deaf ear and a blind eye, or even run away and don’t want to be friends with you anymore.
… they may have their own good reasons for that, or is there perhaps something they don’t fully understand?

Bitcoin Basics

Bitcoin is a digital, virtual cryptocurrency. It is not a government regulated currency and it does not have a geographical base for a government to get their grips on it. Many dishonest and suspicious traders misuse Bitcoin to further their unscrupulous agenda and this is mostly what caused people to be wary of Bitcoin.
Though Bitcoin is not regulated as other FIAT currencies, it has been around for more than 11 years. If Bitcoin was originally a scammers idea of getting people to change their hard earned $ into Bitcoin and then close business and run off with their money, it surely would already have happened years ago.

My Experience

Personally, I have been keeping Bitcoin in my E-Wallet since 2015. I’ve made payments from it, I have received payments into it and I have added and withdrew from it. Pretty much similar as with a normal banking account. Nothing sinister happened to my Bitcoin, except that the value fluctuated more than what we are used to in FIAT currencies. When I first got involved in Bitcoin during 2015, the value of one coin fluctuated between $300 and $500. Today (at the time of writing) its value is more than $8000. You can do the math what the return on a 5-year investment in Bitcoin could have been and then compare it to anything else out there.
I had some excellent returns by just holding Bitcoin in my e-wallet. I sold some (too early) and I bought some back (too late), but over time, I still had excellent growth in the value of my Bitcoin by just keeping it and doing nothing with it. By saying that, I have to mention that I was also involved in Bitcoin mining and trading, with mixed results and this is where the risk is. I will explain more about that in a following update.
After Bitcoin, many other cryptocurrencies sprung up, of which some are gaining trust in the market, but some also have tumbled over and will never make it. All and all, Bitcoin can be viewed as the grandfather of all cryptocurrencies.

Conclusion

In my opinion, Bitcoin is an accepted alternative means of payment in the worldwide market, it is well established and it can certainly be trusted more than the FIAT currency of some governments, especially the currencies of the countries with dictatorships and/or corrupt leaders in charge.
So, in summary, being afraid of getting involved in Bitcoin is mostly because of a lack of knowledge, or because of misunderstanding what the real risk is. It is not Bitcoin as such that should be mistrusted. Your money may even be less at risk in Bitcoin than it is in other currencies.
There is still a misconception that FIAT currencies are backed by Gold. That is not the case. No currency in the world has any underlaying value other than the good standing of the government, the FISCUS and the financial markets. If the government collapses or if they corrupt the FISCUS, the value of the currency will fall or collapse. If the financial markets collapse, the value of the currency will also decline. Remember Bitcoin is not sorting within any geographical base and therefore no government has jurisdiction over it.
It is rather interesting that we have reached a point of trusting a faceless cryptocurrency more than FIAT currencies that is misused and manipulated by corrupt and dishonest politicians and government systems.
The risk is therefore not in Bitcoin as such. The real risk is in how Bitcoin, or for that matter any cryptocurrency, is applied and what is done with it.
An ideal strategy would be to diversify and constantly add cryptocurrency to one’s asset portfolio.