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Rate my reply to my old friend asking me about Bitcoin:

Hey xxxxx

Nice to hear from you.

I am definitely not a financial advisor.

Can I suggest you read my book, it will tell you a lot. It is important you understand what Bitcoin is before you invest anything into it.

Firstly, Bitcoin is not like anything else you have ever experienced in your life. Everything else is based on trust and there is a higher authority you can always turn to.

If you loose access to your bank account, you can walk in to a branch with your ID papers and within half an hour or so, your account access will be restored by them. The bank control your account and the money held within it.

If you loose your passport or driving license, the government can issue you new ones. They control your identity.

If you get locked out of your house, you can call a locksmith and they will break in, legally, for you.

Bitcoin is different, it is permissionless and trustless. Nobody can stop you spending your money and you can send it to anyone anywhere in the world instantly without having to trust a third party to authorise payment for you.

By that same token, if you make a mistake and send it to the wrong address or if you loose the keys that secure your Bitcoin, it is gone, nobody can help you. You need to understand and be comfortable with that.

As for Bitcoin as a store of value, this is the first stage that all new Bitcoiners go through, but if you do it properly, it will eventually be the least significant feature.

However, as for Bitcoin price cycles. Every 4 years the supply is automatically halved. This happened on the 20th April this year, you probably saw we were in Warsaw at a halving party. It happened at 3:09am European time, so we were asleep.

Nothing actually happens for around 6 months of the halving, but from 6 - 18 months after the halving, the price rises significantly to adapt to the new supply and scarcity.

So, from the start of November the price has started to rise and will continue to do so in a saw tooth pattern for around the next year.

The price rise often overshoots the new natural price level and so expect a crash around the end of next year, it will be significant and will take a year or so to recover, but will eventually settle to a new price.

In 4 years time, around April 2028, the cycle will happen again.

Bitcoin is not a short term investment, don’t invest unless you are prepared to hold for a minimum of 4 years.

Holding bitcoin for 8 years can produce generational wealth.

The three core tenets of Bitcoin are:

Not your keys, not your coins - in other words, don’t leave them on exchanges

Don’t trust, verify - which leads to:

Do your own research

Study Bitcoin, it will give you back far more than you can imagine.

In my humble opinion, If he knows nothing at all I think you jump rather quickly to the halving. I would just say that due to its characteristics and its satge of adoption, currently is a higly volatile asset and stress what you said at the begining: itnis important to understanbthe nature of btc before investing in it

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Interesting thanks for the feedback.

I do post more and more about Bitcoin to friends on legacy social media, so he is aware of what has been going on with me since 2016.

He did specifically ask if it was too late, so I was indirectly address that question.

I also disagree with my wife, she expects me to give direct "how to buy now" advice when friends ask face to face, but I am reluctant to do this for somebody that knows nothing.

I think it much better to learn something before investing even a small amount.

I think starting off with $10 - $100 with a rudimentary understanding is fine, but I've had friends invest significant sums with almost no knowledge, which worries me.

Once I read (don't remember where) that, before investing in anything, you should be able of answering these 5 questions:

- it is a real or a financial asset? (In another words, do I need to trust anyone my money?)

- what needs to happen so I earn money with it?

- what needs to happen so I loose money?

- what needs to happen so I loose ALL my money?

- how liquid it is? (In another words, how quickly can I get out, without a significant loss?)

If they can answer that they are good to go (for btc, shares.. whatever)

I'm not sure I can answer those questions effectively and I am maxi 😂

Also, it considers Bitcoin as an investment, which it is, but so, so, so much more.

Let’s say I worked hard and earned 1 Bitcoin. How would I invest 1 Bitcoin in 1 Bitcoin?

Very good point, Bitcoin is primarily money, which we are encouraged to forget by the establishment who have decided they like Bitcoin the asset, but not Bitcoin the money 😂

I thnik you are just discussing semantics. The hard cold reallity is that what people massivelly get and trade is fiat. We are trying to convince them to change to btc to protect their wealth because we think fiat will sink and btc will rise.

But, to protect your wealth there are other means that only time will say if they are better or worse than btc (even if we are convinced btc is the way, we can be mistaken) like shares, gold...

So if anyone is anyone wants to look for a way to protect its wealth switching from fiat to any other thing (including btc) he must have a minimun uderstanding of what can go wrong

No we are not discussing semantics.

You are describing Bitcoin the asset and everything you are saying in valid.

You are not discussing Bitcoin the currency. Until I can buy everything, everywhere in Bitcoin, Bitcoin has not succeeded as a currency.

Even in El Salvador it is not really succeeding as a currency.

I think this will change when Bitcoin reaches global adoption and it acts more like a stablecoin.

I discuss this here:

https://habla.news/u/mhardcastle@nostrplebs.com/1732297906156

Until I can buy a pint of milk and a house and everything else in between with Bitcoin, Bitcoin has not succeeded as a currency.

Thank you. I was struggling with explaining asset versus currency to my mom ( who bought some!)

Yes, indeed. Bitcoin is money. What makes humans different is language. We have to be very meticulous with the meaning of words. Otherwise confusion reins. „They“ want us confused…" if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought."

-Orwell