When we discuss Bitcoin's acceptance, we often focus on the fact that governments are hesitant about it for various reasons; mainly because it’s a currency that they can’t just manipulate at will.
But here’s the twist: it’s not just the governments who are unsure about Bitcoin. The wealthy are skeptical too.
Think about it. The poor tend to keep cash (usually in banks) and use it for spending, while the rich are more into holding assets. Cash can lose its value easily due to inflation, but assets tend to appreciate as inflation rises. Basically, inflation is a tool that helps the rich get richer, while the poor suffer.
Then along comes Bitcoin, a fixed currency that can’t be diluted by government actions. It’s a currency that, when you hold it, won’t lose value because of inflation. Bitcoin creates a more level playing field for everyone.
While inflation can eat away at money held in cash, if you hold Bitcoin instead, it stays strong. That’s why it’s often seen as a hedge against inflation. So, even when prices for goods and services are climbing, the value of cash can be preserved if you’ve got Bitcoin. Plus, with less cash floating around, the rich can quickly snap up more assets, boosting their value even more.
So when we’re chatting about Bitcoin’s adoption, let’s remember it’s not just about governments being wary; some segments of the wealthy are skeptical too!
Untill there comes a discovery of what bitcoin is and how we could maximize its opportunity in our daily lives and the kind of economy challenge we face, we may not be able to realize why we should consider Bitcoin for adoption, same also applies to our government today, whereby most of them were found making allanner of gest concerning Bitcoin until they finally discovered that it was just something they all needed to support its growth and be part of it as well, because bitcoin has lots of benefits. Many people today are being challenged and find Bitcoin to be the only solution to their economic and financial situations.
In a way, the government is ran by the rich. It's always their welfare that the government prioritizes. When there are programs, policies, regulations, directives, and the like, it's always the rich and powerful that benefit from them the most. The government would even go as far as sending young men to strange lands to kill or die in order to fulfill the agenda of the rich, economic or otherwise.
It's the rich who benefit the most of the status quo. Whatever disrupts or shakes the system put in place by the government also affects them. Therefore, it isn't surprising if both the government and the rich are equally skeptical of Bitcoin. On the contrary, it's expected. They move as one.
Isn't it what's happening today? There are a lot of Wall street and even super rich people that are into Bitcoin right now, we have ETF's, institutional company that have heavily invested in Bitcoin today. There could be some wealthy individuals that are skeptical, but those are old and traditional investors and they don't know how this revolution (technology) works that's why they stay away. But if you are going to look closely, then they are missing a lot by trying to push it back, while other millionaires or even billionaires by today are putting their money on it to make more money for them. There are no secret sauce in investing in Bitcoin.
During the early days of bitcoin, I think every single billionaire out there were skeptical, degrading it as just some funny internet money but as it turns out they are all wrong.
They can be skeptical but bitcoin will keep growing beyond their expectation and once they realized how good bitcoin is, they will buy it in a bulk like many companies that bought bitcoin through ETF even indirectly.
The silver lining is people will always be skeptic about new things because they aren't familiar to it yet, like how internet was said to be a fad.
For me, there are a lot of things to consider here:
Volatility, regulations, and long-term uncertainty, speculative nature, or even the uncertain role as an inflation hedge.
I somehow agree with OP that skepticism is not just from our governments, because even institutional or huge retail investors still hesitate.
Most of the powerful people in Old Money do not trust it because Bitcoin removes all their unfair edges, for example being first to get new money or getting into secret hidden accounts since system is clear and not controlled by one group.
I think we are seeing split in which the New Money buyers are using Bitcoin due to its ease whereas Old Group is scared by this move since they cannot continue to depend on rising prices to keep ahead of rest.
Owning Bitcoin, normal man is really protecting himself against money system that had before pushed him aside, and first, and only, truly fair start is made.
Bitcoin was made to give people more freedom and to reduce the kind of control that powerful and wealthy groups usually have, so that ordinary people will not be left out of their rights. In many developed countries, governments often act based on their own interests and if you look well, they don't always consider the struggles of poor and everyday people when making decisions. Sometimes, they can go to any extent just to achieve what benefits them.
But bitcoin has been able to stand on its own and serve everyone in a fair way. It does not focus on whether someone is rich or poor, anyone from anywhere can decide to buy bitcoin at any time. No matter the doubts or opinions from wealthy individuals, Bitcoin does not pay attention to that, it simply remains open and equal for everybody.
Governments have been no longer skeptical about Bitcoin adoption recent years. The Bitcoin adoption has its unprecedented parabolic growth curve and governments globally are all aware of this clear fact.
Even more than a decade ago, in 2011, the USA government tried to invited Gavin Andresen to the CIA.
Gavin will visit the CIA. It happened shortly after Satoshi Nakamoto announced that he will leave the Bitcoin community soon.
Many years since 2009, the Cryptocurrency legality map is quite greenish and bullish.
I doubt that is what those rich people think honestly, as from the recent trend every big investment firm has been all about diversfying to bitcoin. It on the other hand means they are willing to invest into bitcoin and even support its existence.
What matters right now is making profit. If bitcoin could generate massive profit within short term, it's as good as any other asset. The rich will also support the existence of bitcoin even pushing it through lobby. It's all about profit at the end of the day.
The government is THE rich. They make projects only benefit for them. The ones in power are also the ones with most privilege so dont expect the gov to prioritize your wellbeing over theirs unless the politicians elected are genuinely interested in serving others.
Government is not in the favour of btc because it cannot easily be controlled just like Fiat and can easily bypass the policy tools made by Govt monetary. The Government is responsible for their consumer protection and they not every country want to take risk through volatile assets.
The rich people mostly investing their money on the big projects which has daily outcome such as factory,shoos and other business. it is true that cash saved at the bank will be devalued especially in the under devolp countries but I think the government still is the main reason for this. Due to monetary Policy The rich people cannot freely invest in btc. If you invest in btc , you have yo pay 30% tac whether BTC rise or dump (make profit or loss) then who will invest in btc?
They are rich but more than that they are wise so they know that to keep their capital safe first, they must choose best and strongest assets like Bitcoin in cryptocurrency market. It's because they know that the strongest assets will have less risk of deaths or severe loss of most of their values or prices on the market. Strongest assets can go through chaos very well and eventually will recover from the bottoms and make new all time highs.
It's why institutional investors who participate in cryptocurrency market all consider Bitcoin as their first cryptocurrency to spend money in, and they spend the majority of their capital in Bitcoin.
I gree with you that not only the government is skeptical about bitcoin, the rich are also skeptical about it. The only people who are not skeptical about bitcoin are the poor. The poor people are more willing to invest in bitcoin than rich people.
And the reason why the government is skeptical about bitcoin is because, it challenge the traditional system. As we all know Bitcoin is not controlled by any central authority, like the central Banks that are controlled by the government.
So bitcoin decentralized nature made it to be uncomfortable with the government, because government like to control money supply, influence interest rates and manage the economy. So anything, nor currency that can't be controlled by government they don't always go with it.
Apart from the government some financial institutions don't want Bitcoin adoption to grow. Bitcoin can easily offer the same services as fiat. So some traditional banking service providers might be threatened. So they keep lobbying the government to restrict Bitcoin adoption. But, if Bitcoin is legal in your country, then you don't have any excuse not to adopt it.
If the rich are skeptical about Bitcoin who are the institutional investors? Most people are poor not because they don't make money but because they don't know how to invest it. The rich have access to information that it why they make sound financial decisions. It is even then poor that questions the potential of Bitcoin because they think it is risky and expensive.
Some rich folk who are open to something new are well adjusted for BTC.
The reason why is that they don't view their capital as set in stone - they always find ways to invest and do more than they already do.
When we talk about Bitcoin adoption, there are certainly skeptics, and it's true that not only governments but also entities feel their businesses are threatened by the growing adoption of Bitcoin. However, there are probably not many skeptics right now, as many governments are paying attention to Bitcoin, and institutions are increasing their accumulation. So, even if there are some skeptics, it doesn't significantly impact Bitcoin.
Because they want their share of the money too and they see the traction that BTC gathered.
They don't go all in on it, but they surely go somewhere with it.
There are also many poor people who have not invested in bitcoin and are skeptical about it, not just the government or the rich.
Skepticism about bitcoin primarily stems from knowledge, preference or risk tolerance, and has nothing to do with wealth or gender.
But it is undeniable that people in the middle and lower classes are investing more in bitcoin. The reason is that they are willing to take risk in order to seek higher return.