There are several reasons why people dismiss Bitcoin. One of the first reasons is because they fall into the “I heard…” category. I heard that Bitcoin is used for illegal activities. I heard that Bitcoin is used for gambling and drugs. I heard that Bitcoin is dead. I heard that Bitcoin is a scam. I heard that Bitcoin is dead or going to tank and you’ll lose money.
Others dismiss Bitcoin because they are afraid of not being able to understand how to do it. What people also don’t realize, is that in the beginning, you didn’t know how to use fiat money, a bank, a chequing account (if you have written real cheques), a debit card, or a credit card. All these products were taught to you by someone you know. You grew up seeing your parents use these methods of payment and learned though not only your parents, but also maybe through school. Back in the early 90’s, when credit cards came out, there were countless people who didn’t believe that the world would accept them at fast food places.
Many people don’t understand why Bitcoin because they don’t have a reason to. Fiat money is working for them, and they are living month to month with their income vs expenses. Even if you have some ‘savings’, fiat money is working for them and like the credit card example above, many places in the world still do not accept Bitcoin.
Many people who are fortunate enough to have enough income that they have a significant balance of cash start to learn about how EVERY SINGLE FIAT CURRENCY devalues their currency by making more at the government or central banking level. They realize that since the value of their local fiat currency is devaluing (called inflation – a great marketing term) at a rate that they cannot control, they must look for ways to keep their purchasing power. They don’t know what to do, so they may seek professional help with their bank who turns them to the ‘normal’ investment strategies: Bonds, Mutual Funds, Guaranteed Investment Certificates (GICs), Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs – which for the most part are essentially Mutual Funds), and possibly Stocks. These methods have been recommended based on the ‘risk’ level of the person, and when they need the funds. Often people choose low risk because they don’t want to come out behind and instead get a very nominal return on their investment, usually just over the posted “Inflation” rate. It is only when it is too late, they realize their investments were not keeping up with inflation but trailing what the actual inflation numbers are.
There are also some that are very fortunate to land an amazing opportunity or come into a large amount of money. They recognize that the devaluation of the currency will erode their fortune away, so they gravitate toward looking what others who have succeeded have done. This usually ends up with real estate investing. Real estate investing has been and still is today one of the best ways to keep and expand your wealth. That’s because real estate investing is a “business in a box” and you only get rich and keep your wealth if you own businesses as successful businesses always keeps up with inflation or outpaces inflation. There are many ways to do a real estate investing business. Buy, Renovate, Refinance, and Repeat – better known as the BRRR strategy. House Hacking – where you buy a multi-unit property and live in 1 of the units while your renters are paying down your mortgage. Real estate where you are the property manager, Student Rentals, Buying and then adding units to the existing property, and turn key investing to name a few. There are many more ways, but as you can see, all of these methods are recognizing that real estate is a business with your renters as customers.
Once you get to this point, you realize that no one is SAVING any money, they are all investing money in other companies or creating their own company, always looking for the next big thing that will help them retain their capital purchasing power. The term saving is used only for temporary measures now – saving for a vacation, saving for an appliance, saving for a car, saving for a rainy day…
BITCOIN CHANGES THIS!
You save in Bitcoin!!! Yes, Bitcoin is volatile day-to-day, month-to-month. Don’t look at Bitcoin to save for the rainy day – use it to save for your future in a span of at least 5 years. Why? Bitcoin will always outpace inflation of your fiat currency – it is in the fundamentals of Bitcoin and Fiat.