Topic: The risk and reward of having Bitcoin - page 5. (Read 1079 times)

It could be weakness and also stupidity of users of the system.
Just like sending money to another unknown account, and this is certainly related to one's thoroughness in making transactions.

Seeing how Bitcoin transactions cannot be reversed, it is a fact that must be realized and must make transactions must be more thorough without any errors.

As in the case of one Bitcointalk member some time ago who mistakenly sent coins to a different wallet, but has similarities in wallet prefixes and suffixes such as:
A1b2C................. 3D4e5F
A1B2c.................. 3d4E5F
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/m.63086113

This is a rare case of misdelivery and tells us that it is advisable to check all the order of addresses correctly so that they are not sent to another address, just one different letter will be different wallet.

As with any investment, there are both risks and rewards associated with Bitcoin. On the risk side, the price of Bitcoin is highly volatile, and there is a possibility that you could lose money if the price goes down. There is also the risk of theft, as cryptocurrencies are susceptible to hacking. On the reward side, the price of Bitcoin has historically gone up over time, and there is the potential for significant returns if the price continues to rise. Additionally, Bitcoin is a decentralized currency, meaning that it is not controlled by any government or financial institution. This can be seen as a positive, as it offers more autonomy and freedom for users...


To further explore the risks and rewards of Bitcoin, let's look at some specific examples.
One of the biggest risks associated with Bitcoin is its volatility. In the past, the price of Bitcoin has fluctuated dramatically, sometimes dropping by as much as 80% in a single day. This makes it a risky investment, as you could potentially lose a lot of money if the price were to drop suddenly. On the other hand, this volatility also means that there is the potential for large gains if the price were to rise. For example, if you had invested in Bitcoin in 2011, you would have seen a return of over 7,000.

Apart from the volatility aspect of bitcoin, everything else, like security, lies in the hands of the adoptee. For example, some people go about publicly announcing how many bitcoins they have and also foolishly expose some of their secret information to a third party who is not even trusted.

The aspect of bitcoin not generally being accepted as a global currency is that the government is not the people who created it, and since it's not something that they can regulate, it's not possible for them to make it a generally accepted currency.

 What they also fear is the volatility characteristic of bitcoin.

Normally every system has its drawbacks, and if there is anyone I can even think of with bitcoin, it is the fact that if one foolishly or mistakenly sends bitcoin to the wrong address without cross-checking if it was actually the right address, they cannot get back their bitcoin unless it is sent to the address of a known user who is willing to refund the asset.

That's bitcoin by having high volatility we can determine the right time to buy and sell, there are other considerations why people always have risky ones.

If you keep it on an exchange. If you store in non-custodial wallets especially hardware wallets it is only a few that experience this problem.

So always double check before sending to another address.

The bitcoin advantage is that there is a 4-year cycle that many investors expect to get rich.

Many bitcoin investors take it as privacy even though the transaction is transparent.

We don't need to carry physical goods.

The only main key on here that risks tolerance and acceptance, then you wont really be able to think about being a problem because once you do step your foot into this crypto space then it would really be just that
fine for you and not really that something stressful on your part. There are ones who are really that making those careless steps and on the time that they do see negative into their portfolio, then they would really be starting on freaking out. Risk and reward thing? it would be always that common to see or to look at into this kind of investment. You wont really be  that making yourself that too careless and not being mindful about the risks involved in crypto specially on investing with Bitcoin but since we are seeing that this project or coin that had been mostly been trusted and recommended by any crypto enthusiast then it wont really be that something that you could blame on on why they would really be mainly choosing this. As for those people who are reconsidering altcoins then it would really be their own choice since not all people would really be liking to see
on getting multiple folds on their investment and this is why they would really be considering out such option.

In order to see your investment's success, you need to pay the price first. That is dealing with the risks and continue to defeat them, if not at least learn to manage them. With bitcoin, a lot of risks and disadvantages are being said, but a lot of us here would still want to continue investing in bitcoin because of how promising it is and guaranteed profitable if you'd only know how to deal with it.

Most likely, those who have high risks are also known to give the sweetest fruits in the end, and bitcoin is a valid proof for that. That is the reason why even if other people see bitcoin as a get rich quick scheme, as a tool for criminals or a threat to the government, still bitcoin enthusiasts continue to trust bitcoin because of its high yielding rewards and profits.

Probably the biggest difficulty for the lay person is to become their own banks, while this is a great feature of bitcoin as it returns that power to the people, as it should be, many people are finding very difficult to secure their coins properly, which is why they either use exchanges as their main wallets and risk losing it all if the exchange gets hacked or they do not take the appropriate measures to protect their coins, even when they believe they have done so.

I think that there's almost no risk. The only viable risk that you take when you decide to hold bitcoin is that you could fall victim of a wallet vulnerability or a scam exchange like it happened with Quadriga, BTC-e and many others.

There's no risk in bitcoin itself because it can't be banned, unless you're worried about being banned locally and then you'll be forced to exchange it abroad, but for people who hold a lot it's not really a problem. If your country is oppressive enough to ban bitcoin maybe you're going to do better living somewhere else and spending your money there.

When you compare the two, I mean the advantages and disadvantages you’ll notice that most of the causes of the disadvantages are due to carelessness of the user by doing careless things with their funds when they are not suppose to. The advantages have already surpassed the disadvantages, so it makes more sense why you should invest in bitcoin if you can be able to control and reduce the causes of the disadvantages of having them in your portfolio. Having a way to compare and contrast before investing your money if the best thing to do, if you have them spelt out, you can decide whether you can take the risk or not.

Op these things we all know from onset of the journey. And anyone that join this great forum and really wants to learn Bitcoin, those the first things the person would understand. Only reading the meaning of Bitcoin those advantages and disadvantages are known. So there is no big deal on them though those who are having problem to understand it from the beginning can know them from your list but they just from the general knowledge from Bitcoin concept. It is the volatile nature of Bitcoin makes it more interesting because people buy at the time when the price is affordable and sell it it when the price goes up. Therefore there should be no dispute on the volatile nature of Bitcoin and for the risk, it is not what you think, the risk comes from the way you want it. If you are investing in it then you have to set your goal before starting the journey so that you will not be disappointed. So you home work very well before inventing into it.
If my system is hacked it will not affect my Bitcoin unless my seed phrase is leaked out to the hackers and if my seed phrase is not known to the hackers then my Bitcoins will be saved and that is why the security of your wallet seed phrase and password is the number.one priority for all who are into Bitcoin. Failure to secure your seed phrase is your fault and not from risk. One have to be careful before sending out Bitcoin if possible cross check the address very well before clicking the send button. Op you have to know that Bitcoin is not a get quick rich scheme. So don't go and tell people that Bitcoin can make people to be rich.

"* It's very accessible at any given point in time."

I think these lists are fun to read as they get people thinking about more advantages that Bitcoin does have and what I often notice in these types of threads is that people stay in the abstract, like when someone says "it is good because it is decentralized". Some people understand the implications of having a decentralized wealth securing protocol and some people don't. They just follow the buzzword "decentralization". For many of these advantages and disadvantages there are interesting threads on this forum and if you present your list, maybe it would be interesting to collect some suggestions for insightful topics from other OPs and link them below.

One aspect I would add, but which could also derived from the points collected thus far, is unlimited capital mobility. You can't be stopped at a border like you could with a handbag full of gold bars. This mobility is insanely useful and allows people to leave their home if they like to, need to or have to without being forced to leave all their wealth behind. It is a different story with cash in the bank accounts. You can't just transfer the money out to a bank in a different country, or access it from there. Bitcoin is the most mobile form of wealth on the planet. Hence:

"* It's very accessible at any given point in time and space."

Hmm, I'm sure you are counting the traders here not investors because for investors Bitcoin is the name of reality. #Hodl


Hmm, considering the actual hype of this bull rally you won't regret, it because now we are heading towards a mass level of adoption. #ETF's


Well, that is a fact but I will count the superiority of the self custody over this point i can take care of funds, I do not need any central system to take over my assets and provide the namely security from themselves haha.
#not_your_key_not_your_funds


Hmm, there's a point where it's not nearly impossible it's completely impossible unless or until the receiver is kind that he returns the amount back to you. Such an incident rarely happens becasue we all copy & paste the address. hehe, a small reminder to be aware of the clipboard virus.

You wrote the article that I wanted to add, and I would like to add that Bitcoin is more robust and reliable than traditional fiat money.


Bitcoin has many advantages and over time Bitcoin will be accepted by many people. People who do not understand Bitcoin now will understand it in the future and will start to enjoy its advantages. Change takes time and we are in no rush.

You need to first understand every business undertaking is risky but saying Bitcoin is volatile is not entirely true, will say moderately volatile as you need to understand coins you are comparing it with and they are faring.

Yes, not generally accepted by all but based on  recent acceptability we can say we have more people venturing into crypto market most especially Bitcoin & Ethereum. For last 2 quoted as disadvantage I believe they can happen due to  human errors which needs to be handled with all seriousness by holder.

Yes, it is true that in general people do not accept it because there are still people in the world who see Bitcoin as a disgrace, and that is the reason why Bitcoin has rejected their cheap or corrupt system. Just helpless and despised in the world of real finance. And I think this is the reason why fiat currency lovers hate Bitcoin.

Losing or hacking your Bitcoin depends on how you protect your assets or take security measures. It has nothing to do with Bitcoin that if the system is hacked, Bitcoin can also be stolen. Bitcoin depends on you; if you do not leave any shortfall in your security measures, you cannot lose Bitcoin or hack. It means keeping your funds in your wallet instead of exchang , and that too in hardware wallets. Keep phrases, pass codes, etc. safe. So, hopefully, no such issue can be presented to you due to which you lose your funds or get victimized by hackers.

Moreover, if something is lost, i.e. the system is hacked, they can lose it apart from Bitcion, whether it is a bank account or any other funds. It is up to you to keep it safe by not keeping it in a place where it is easy for a hacker to hack it, but keeping it in a safe place.

I think it would be prudent to add to the advantage column how it's more sound money that traditional fiat money, how it's blockchain is a breakthrough technology that no other type of similar "platform" had ever had before.  How it's decentralized nature is different (better) than that of our current monetary systems which are all centralized in nature.

I do agree with your main bullet points though, they are pretty spot on.

I would like to add; still not many people realize how much exchanges play a role in providing a clean, fair marketplace. Without auditing exchanges there is no way to tell if exchanges are insider trading or hedging bets against the market. Many people can claim exchanges are manipulating the market, but without enforcing regulations, crackdowns and audits, we wouldn't know.

This only affects you if you want to hold for a short time. I cared about volatility when I held bitcoin for a year. When I hit 5 or 6 years I was so far ahead that it did not matter anymore if I'm down 20%  since I was up 500% or more. So, holding your last money in bitcoin is risky, but if you invest 10% of your liquid capital the risk is near 0.


I don't care as long as it's accepted in places that I want to buy and as long as I can exchange it to goods and services.

So keep it in a hardware wallet. These things cost less than $100 these days.


Just like a bank transfer. Try getting your money back if you send it to the wrong person. You can get it back from a business but not from a random private account holder.

There aren't many reasons why there is a risk, I mean sure if you do not think that you can hold it volatile situation, then you could consider the situation as good as it can get if you are willing to hold. The "filthy rich" part is good enough and I do not think that anything else is required, you are just happy to get richer and richer by holding longer and longer and you shouldn't consider anything else. I get that we are talking about something that may have some downsides, but when the upside is that you are going to be super rich, all the downsides are unimportant suddenly and you should be acting like there is no downside. Thats why if you ask me, there is no downside at all.

Bitcoin price volatility will actually never cause losses to any Bitcoin investor if that person doesn't sell the Bitcoin they own.
it's not a hacked system that can make you lose your Bitcoin, but if you carelessly save your password and private key.
i would like to add a little about the benefits of Bitcoin, that is you can transfer large amounts of money between countries and continents in just a fraction of a second, even without fees of up to tens of dollars.
the bitcoin you own will not be able or impossible to be stolen by other people if you protect your password and keyphrase.