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I don't actually speak to many people irl these days, but there is one dad from Holland who I have become friendly with over the years since the kids went to the same school and go on playdates etc
So, for about 5 years I have been talking about bitcoin and markets and things with him, and overall, through the ups and downs, every time it peaks, he always says I'm too late now, lol
Every time.
There was a moment at the 60k point when he was saying about maybe putting 1k euro in just for exposure, and never did it. Now, this is not someone short of money; he has a very successful business, but there is some primal fear of the possibility of a fiat number going down.
The worst part is, he had also thought about doing this when Bitcoin was just a few years old. His wife even said she would give him the money to do it, and he still didn't lol.
He's like 60, though, so maybe some of it is age-related and rooted in fear. He signed up to a youtuber trader guy's course and for a year is still doing paper trading.
I don't know how many other no-coiners are like this, but I suspect many watch the ngu, think they're too late, then forget about it until another peak and fail to stack a single sat. I will keep nudging every now and then, but I don't hold out much hope.
This is why this meme is one of my favorites
I have another friend I tried to orange pill many years back, and he was smug when it dipped, saying 'good thing i didn't listen to you!'
So as punishment, I send him this meme every ath and it gives me immense pleasure lol
Fear of loss is a strong psychological force so is confirmation bias. It makes sense that when people see the price elevated they think they are too late and then when it dips they confirm that they were right to not get in. Then they forget about bitcoin again for awhile until it is ripping again and the cycle starts over.
Most people will end up with Bitcoin exposure indirectly.
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Exactly. This is particularly difficult when you are dealing with friends. Very soon everyone will want to buy, just in time for a bear market.
That's why I recommend to my friends to just buy a very small amount, then start reading. Then maybe set up a small weekly dca. Make the ramp up as painless as possible.
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i feel like when someone has bought even a small amount, it can gives them some skin in the game and can trigger the next step down the path. Unless they buy at the top , right before a crash, then they go the bitter route lol
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61 sats \ 1 reply \ @siggy47 17h
Yes, that's my fear too. Even buying a little at the very top could be the end for them.
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yeah, and no doubt can ruin a friendship too!
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106 sats \ 1 reply \ @optimism 15 Jul
If a friend asks me if they should buy bitcoin I just tell them no. Because if you have to ask then you didn't do research and I'm not about to take the liability to the dollar signs in their eyes.
Instead I just orange pill people by settling drink money in sats.
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140 sats \ 0 replies \ @k00b 15 Jul
If a friend asks me if they should buy bitcoin I just tell them no.
Same. For younger folks, I also find this is more persuasive than telling them what to do.
I did this with my younger brother-in-law recently. After I dissuaded him of whatever FUD he'd encountered and more. He asked, "should I buy bitcoin then?" I said "no, do research and decide for yourself." His body language was a mixture of relief and increased interest.
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That's the best way. I recall in the depths of the last bear I finally convinced a buddy of mine to buy and hold Bitcoin as savings. He has a good job and income but has a spending problem and his job is very physically intensive so he isn't sure how many more years he will be able to do it. I sent him some sats and told him he should DCA a bit every time he got paid and start learning about Bitcoin. A couple weeks later he texted me asking about shitcoins some coworker told him to buy and I thought the plot was lost already but I convinced him to not get involved in any other cryptos and focus on Bitcoin.
When we reached 70k last year he texted me and thanked me and said between his buys and the price appreciation he now had over 10k in his bitcoin savings account. I said "ok now we have to get your bitcoin off the exchange" and I walked him through that.
I just tell him to keep stacking and focus on the sats balance not the fiat balance. Although he still hasn't totally got that part yet. He likes to tell me how much his bitcoin is worth in fiat periodically. Nobody's perfect.
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Lucky he avoided the siren song of the shitcoin phase!
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Incredible quote I found today, relevant af for this story:
there is nothing I can really do but to answer questions if they ever have any and just be a resource, but their journey is on their own, and if they can’t seem to invest in sound money, than that’s on them and not on me.
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very true words, it's hard to see people's ignorance hold them back, but as the adage says, when the student is ready, the teacher appears i suppose
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41 sats \ 0 replies \ @OT 15 Jul
Some people....
Stop nudging and he'll probably buy the top this cycle.
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It depends on your situation and urgency. If you are well-off, you would not see much of an urgency to acquire more BTC, because they can already afford everything with USD. Instead of seeing BTC as sound money, they have it in the back of their mind as a speculative investment, so there is some resistance to change in that way.
If your economy is weak however, you'll want to store more BTC early on. The most knowledgeable person I know about Bitcoin told me, "You get Bitcoin at the price you deserve."
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Why do you have to keep nudging?
I started late too, and not even a whole coiner yet. I need more time to stack before any more adoption. And I am sure there are others like me. So don't force it on people, let them come to it whenever they are ready (or else, their grandkids will).
We are unfortunately (for me) far past the stage where bitcoin needs marketing or evangelising. It's inevitable and soon almost everyone alive will come to it, nudged by reality.
Those fruit sellers in Cuba or Turkey, they want USD for their fruits. Is it because Jerome Powell nudged them? No, it's reality.
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it's not much of a nudge really, i just like to bring up the latest gold prices, bitcoin and general investment talk.
in large part, i find it interesting to see the mindset of fear and psychology around investment and wonder it one day, he'll decide to conquer that fear and just take a position
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I really like to read story like this.
Since early 2023 I have told people around me: we all have to prepared for upcoming hyperinflation, our money worth nothing, 300k sats is only about $50 (2023 price), bitcoin is going up forever. 99% of people were sceptical about it.
Time flies. Since early 2024 the same people have started to write me: have you seen, Bitcoin is $40k, $50k, $72k, $100k, ... All what I answer them: it's just the beginning, Bitcoin is going up forever.
And you know what? They all are still sceptical about my words, every dip they remind me: Bitcoin fall down, I told you so
p.s. people will pay for Bitcoin the price they deserve
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in a context of a country with a weaker currency, it's more interesting because, in theory, the economic need should make bitcoin a no-brainer at this point, just look at any chart.
for my fiat friend, he's flush with euros and therefore isn't too worried, the pain isn't there, neither the urgency.
but as you say, people are going to get it at the price they deserve
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32 sats \ 1 reply \ @k00b 15 Jul
At that age, ime, like with my dad, it's best to speak in terms that they understand. I pitched my dad with the "an X% allocation to bitcoin will improve the overall performance of any portfolio." That got him to get into an ETF, and he saw gains very quickly from it, then began wondering if he should put a higher, Y% in.
We talked a lot about why the ETF isn't ideal and why bitcoin is so much better than any other financial asset in terms of confiscation and freedom and manipulation, which he got as a Persian immigrant, but he's getting on in 60's now and was honest about how much responsibility he wanted to take on.
What's nice is that he talks to his side of the family a lot, and much of the younger generation back in Iran, and will probably get them all interested, imparting how for their age, in their position, they should be custodying it themselves.
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This is true, although the guy is too scared to do anything other than paper trading and doesn't own any stocks of any kind, literally just cash in the bank.
the funny part is, though, he does understand that this is not good, and he's also expressed worry about leaving coins on an exchange, even tho he doesnt have any lol
i think when a person is so terrified of any kind of investment, even gold, their journey is going to be a long one and maybe fear wins
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stackers have outlawed this. turn on wild west mode in your /settings to see outlawed content.