Fears, Uncertainties, Doubts
If these answers don’t fully address your concerns, here are additional resources for more in depth information.
End The FUD
"I am too late"
You're never too late to buy Bitcoin, much like it's never too late to get onto a life raft from a sinking ship. You should not focus Bitcoin price in dollars, but rather on its role as a safe haven and a hedge against fiat inflation, bitcoin is akin to a life raft or parachute, saving you from a financial death leaving you destitute.
There isn't enough BTC for everyone
Remember, each bitcoin is divisible into 100 million units known as satoshis, or Sats. This divisibility means that much smaller transactions can still be performed for everyday purchases such as bread and milk.
There are a total of 2.1 quadrillion satoshis. If we divide this by the world’s population of roughly 8 billion people, this gives 262,500 satoshis per person. Bitcoin is actually the most divisible form of money out there, more than gold, silver or even the USD.
Bitcoin's fixed supply ensures and safeguards it from being devalued through oversupply, unlike fiat where printing more money leads to inflation.
When living on a fiat standard and denominating your unit of account in dollars, you will inevitably watch the purchasing power of your money drop as prices of goods and services rise. Conversely, when you opt to save and nominate bitcoin as your default unit of account, you will watch the value increase over time and the price of goods and services drop.
Value can continuously be added to a unit (bitcoin), but it cannot be endlessly extracted (fiat) because eventually, people will perceive it as worthless, and it will become obsolete.
Dollars = A life towards poverty.
BTC = A life towards prosperity.
"BTC is for criminals"
Bitcoin, similar to cash and the internet, is a neutral tool that can be utilised for both positive and negative purposes. Despite worries, the proportion of Bitcoin transactions linked to criminal activities is extremely low.
Criticising Bitcoin for its use in illicit activities is comparable to faulting cash or the internet for their roles in unlawful transactions or hosting dark web sites and illegal markets.
Bitcoin's decentralised nature and censorship resistance are crucial. If it can facilitate commerce for criminals, it can conversely do the same for people suffering under extreme dictatorships and tyrannical oppression (As it has & is doing). The fact that bitcoin can be used for illicit purposes doesn't undermine its utility, rather, it emphasises that bitcoin is a viable and functional currency system for everyone.Unchained - Bitcoin is Not for Criminals
"The government will just ban it"
Bitcoin’s innate nature makes it impossible for governments to ban it completely. Its decentralisation means that the network isn't controlled by any single entity nor located in a single centralised location. The timechain, is a distributed ledger spread across thousands of computers worldwide. This decentralisation renders any government’s attempt to shut it down akin to playing a global game of whack-a-mole; even if one country bans it, the network continues to operate seamlessly in other countries.
Additionally, Bitcoin transactions occur peer-to-peer over the internet, just as cash functions in person, bypassing traditional financial systems. This means that as long as individuals have internet access, they can participate in the Bitcoin network.
Lastly, the growing integration and intertwinement of Bitcoin into the global financial system and its acceptance by investors and businesses make a total ban not only technically challenging but also potentially economically disadvantageous for countries. Therefore, while governments can regulate or restrict Bitcoin’s use within their borders, completely banning it is a far more complex and likely unfeasible task.
First, they ignore you; then they laugh at you; then they fight you; and finally, they join you so they can survive. This pattern applies not only to individuals but also to groups and even at the country level.
Can the Government Shut Down Bitcoin
"It has no intrinsic value"
Bitcoin's value, often debated, is not grounded in intrinsic properties like gold. Intrinsic value refers to the inherent, tangible worth of an asset, typically linked to its physical properties. Unlike gold, Bitcoin lacks tangible physical form or direct industrial applications. However, this absence of traditional intrinsic value doesn't render Bitcoin valueless. Its worth is underpinned by substantial investments in mining infrastructure and countless hours of software development and writing.
Similarly, items like emeralds, collectible coins, digital game tokens, and artworks by artists like Picasso lack direct industrial use but still hold significant value. This value is not so much a result of their physical attributes but more due to their scarcity and the extensive time and effort required to create them, a concept often described as proof of work. Gold, for instance, while having some industrial applications, is primarily valued for its rarity and the laborious proof of work involved in its extraction, rather than its practical use.
Therefore, the value of Bitcoin and similar non-industrial assets stems from the collective agreement on their worth, driven by scarcity and the considerable resources and energy expended in their creation or acquisition.
Carl Menger on Value
Value is nothing inherent in goods, no property of them, nor an independent thing existing by itself. It is a judgment economizing men make about the importance of goods at their disposal for the maintenance of their lives and well-being. Hence value does not exist outside the consciousness of men.
"What if there's no internet?"
If the global internet were to go down for days or weeks, Bitcoin would not be significantly affected in the long term. In such an event, Bitcoin transactions might pause, but the timechain's integrity would remain intact across various nodes and hard drives around the world. Once the internet returns, the network would synchronise and continue functioning as usual. This resilience is in stark contrast to the traditional financial system, which is heavily dependent on constant internet connectivity and would be completely obliterated in such an event.
Furthermore, an internet outage would have widespread effects on many aspects of society, extending well beyond financial systems. In such a scenario, the primary focus would be on more immediate societal and infrastructural challenges, such as survival, rather than on the functioning of the Bitcoin network.
It is also important to note that without the internet, the establishment of a total surveillance state or a global governing body like the NWO would be impossible, as they would rely on the internet for a global surveillance grid.
The design of Bitcoin is extremely robust, enabling it to withstand temporary internet outages. This demonstrates its resilience when compared to more centralised financial systems.SwanBitcoin - What Happens to Bitcoin if the Internet Goes Down?
"Bitcoin is not physical"
Firstly, if we are willing to change our perspective here, Bitcoin's nonphysical nature actually enhances its security and personal sovereignty! Being digital and not existing in a tangible form, Bitcoin becomes extremely difficult to confiscate. You hold complete control over your bitcoin through private keys, managed via a seed phrase consisting of 12 to 24 words, this series of words allows access to your Bitcoin.
This transformation of money into a series of words is akin to turning money into a form of speech, it's a significant leap in how we perceive and handle value. It means that your wealth can be memorised or stored in a way that's incredibly discreet and portable. In a metaphorical sense, bitcoin could be considered a pharaoh’s greatest treasure, as it allows individuals to maintain control over their wealth in a manner that could be taken to the grave and safeguarded for eternity.
This aspect of Bitcoin represents a monumental and revolutionary leap forward in the history of money. It significantly enhances an individual's control and self sovereignty, offering ultimate responsibility but maximum freedom.
"Bitcoin wastes energy"
This is often the most misinterpreted topic on Bitcoin. Contrary to belief, Bitcoin's energy usage is one of its most exciting benefits, though it's also one of the most egregiously misunderstood aspects. The narrative that Bitcoin is an energy waster is largely perpetuated by legacy media, but in reality, the situation is quite contrary.
Bitcoin mining, driven by the Proof of Work protocol, actually incentivises miners to seek out the cheapest sources of energy available. Miners often act as an 'energy sponge', absorbing excess energy to prevent grid overloads, as seen in cases where they use excess energy from fracking in turn reducing Co2 emissions.
The capability of Bitcoin miners to find the cheapest sources of energy globally and use them efficiently is revolutionary. It also negates the need for extensive energy transportation, allowing energy to be sold directly at the source, eliminating the need for pipelines or power lines.
Bitcoin holds the potential to revolutionise the energy sector, driving the world towards more sustainable and freely available energy sources. This shift can lead to energy abundance worldwide for the first time in history if Bitcoin's potential is realised, helping lift the most disadvantaged populations out of poverty.