What should you know before recommending Bitcoin to a friend?

[LeyMonte]

If there is one thing I have understood, it is simply "Don't trust, but verify". If we take a look at the industry toward, we all can admit that there are a good number of believers, and those who don't. A lot of people tend to say things based on their own bias or emotions. A lot of people define Bitcoin based on their emotions, whether negative or positive.

Your two words are very reasonable and make the most sense in the current context. Because everyone says believe but later on you can be deceived because you cannot give any specific idea about the crypto market. If someone can be taught the verification system, he will understand and learn much better. He will be able to understand how much he can be sure about the truth of a matter through verification. From my side, when I tell someone something about bitcoin, I try to explain the current context of the market. Currently, the place of trust is weak, so it is better to verify and do what feels good.

However, currently, if any of my friends wants to learn or know about bitcoin, I can show them both the bear market and the bull market.

[LucyFurr]

Bitcoin is bitcoin and WBTC or BTC ETF are not real bitcoin that is one thing that we should keep in mind when we recommend bitcoin to someone. Because we can see lot of people claim that they can easily buy BTC in the form of WBTC and can use it for passive income like staking which is wrong since backed by is nothing but we trust the token issuer which isn't decentralized and completely against the idea of bitcoin/decentralized monetary tool.

[Marykeller]

The losses or profits you made in Bitcoin are on you, nobody is sharing that with you. You take responsibility for whatever investment decision you make, don't hold or blame anyone for that.

Avoid following crypto analyst predictions before you invest,  because you might invest all you have out of expectations of what they say about the market without having emergency funds at hand

[Ronsbit]

The bitcoin market is highly volatile, and when investing, invest with funds you can afford to lose or a spare fund you would not need anytime soon.

The safety of your Bitcoin lies in your hands. Keep your key phrase safe, where only you can access it, because anyone who does automatically has access to your assets. So it would be in your best interest to take your wallet safety serious.

[mvdheuvel1983]

The bitcoin market is highly volatile, and when investing, invest with funds you can afford to lose or a spare fund you would not need anytime soon.

The safety of your Bitcoin lies in your hands. Keep your key phrase safe, where only you can access it, because anyone who does automatically has access to your assets. So it would be in your best interest to take your wallet safety serious.

The right word should be investing with spare money there is nothing to lose when you invest in Bitcoin for a long term, remember not your keys not your coins this statement alone shows that after investing in Bitcoin you need to safeguard your keys and make sure only you have access to it so that you will not lose all you have suffered to invest in. The last thing is to have a good source of income before investing in Bitcoin this will make you not to think of selling your Bitcoin at loss when there is dip, avoid clicking on any links you come across to in the Internet so that you will not lose your holdings.

[CryptoYar]

[...]

It is excellent security rule to have because your loss as result of address changing bad software which changes copied address immediately to that of hacker is a perfect way to show why crypto transactions are final and need most care. Best way to do things of trying small amounts first is strategy that you have used that makes sure that address and network are correct before large transfer. To remain safe, you must always physically check start and end of address once it has been pasted and only download wallet software on official site, which together form great shield against losing your money.

[yixichloro2xx]

The losses or profits you made in Bitcoin are on you, nobody is sharing that with you. You take responsibility for whatever investment decision you make, don't hold or blame anyone for that.

Avoid following crypto analyst predictions before you invest,  because you might invest all you have out of expectations of what they say about the market without having emergency funds at hand

‎A person makes better progress in this crypto space especially when you think for yourself, cuz when your money enter the market, so what happens to you is no one concern . So you need to be Better at planning, exercising patience and one thing when shouldn't forget is protecting our savings before risking anything.

[Smartvirus]

One of the need to know before actually giving anyone an investment advice on Bitcoin is;

The need to understand the purpose for which that individual intends to invest. I think it’s one of the most important aspect to any recommendation at all. This defines just how well such individual would be able to handle the huddles that would come with investing in Bitcoin.

Lately I’ve had certain persons enquire on just where or how to invest an averaged amount of money to reap benefits off it.

Understanding their purpose and the fact that these persons don’t wish to hold for a long term to reap ROI and would rather want an investment that gives returns on invested capital periodically through a short period of time, you’ll just know they aren’t ready for Bitcoin investment. Stirring them that part could mean trouble and blames on you for their mistakes. Best to keep off and let them seek other opportunities.

[Rustam Meraj]

One of the need to know before actually giving anyone an investment advice on Bitcoin is;

The need to understand the purpose for which that individual intends to invest. I think it’s one of the most important aspect to any recommendation at all. This defines just how well such individual would be able to handle the huddles that would come with investing in Bitcoin.

Lately I’ve had certain persons enquire on just where or how to invest an averaged amount of money to reap benefits off it.

Understanding their purpose and the fact that these persons don’t wish to hold for a long term to reap ROI and would rather want an investment that gives returns on invested capital periodically through a short period of time, you’ll just know they aren’t ready for Bitcoin investment. Stirring them that part could mean trouble and blames on you for their mistakes. Best to keep off and let them seek other opportunities.

You are correct that first step to giving investment advice is to know why individual wants to invest, their goal, the length of time they intend to keep the money, and the amount of risk they are willing to take, because those who want fast, regular income are not good match with Bitcoin, because its price moves much and does not give interest or dividends. So, most suitable and safe advice is to tell them that they should not use Bitcoin and look for other choices, such as savings accounts or bonds, which will not only help them not to lose money but also you not to be held responsible.

[Taskford]

Can you add something? Good tips will be merited and linked in the OP!

I would like to add that it's important to hand over details of your Bitcoin wallet to your next of kin because if you don't pass such details then all your hard work will be lost forever. If you have family then make sure they can access your Bitcoins in case you are no more in this world. Bitcoin differs from real world assets like our Bank account in a sense that their is a procedure in place to hand over your Bank balance to your nominee.  But with Bitcoin we have to do all such formalities in our life.

Will not do this since its so risky if lots of people know your private key. They might do harm especially if they know that you have lots of funds on your wallet.

What I think much better thing to do is to show them that you are investing in Bitcoin and give them an idea about what is Bitcoin then tell them that if there's something unexpected happen all your important details has been stored on your computer.

But won't tell this information to my friend, but rather will just show them basic information on how they can learn Bitcoin and also how they can make sure their balance is safe by hiding their private keys and warn them not to post it anywhere.

[PostQuantumBTC]

The bitcoin market is highly volatile, and when investing, invest with funds you can afford to lose or a spare fund you would not need anytime soon.

Bitcoin is not trading, you can invest more than the amount that you can afford to lose but you need to understand how to invest in bitcoin in a way you will do it in a way that will later give you better profit later.

[Ronsbit]

The bitcoin market is highly volatile, and when investing, invest with funds you can afford to lose or a spare fund you would not need anytime soon.

The safety of your Bitcoin lies in your hands. Keep your key phrase safe, where only you can access it, because anyone who does automatically has access to your assets. So it would be in your best interest to take your wallet safety serious.

The right word should be investing with spare money there is nothing to lose when you invest in Bitcoin for a long term, remember not your keys not your coins this statement alone shows that after investing in Bitcoin you need to safeguard your keys and make sure only you have access to it so that you will not lose all you have suffered to invest in. The last thing is to have a good source of income before investing in Bitcoin this will make you not to think of selling your Bitcoin at loss when there is dip, avoid clicking on any links you come across to in the Internet so that you will not lose your holdings.

Maybe you misunderstood the context there, when one says invest with funds you can afford to lose, many things should come into your mind for thought. It is not all about investment that links to funds, affordable to lose.  There are a lot of other things that could happen along the line. What if a person gets scammed of their bitcoin, and it is what they could afford to lose? I believe it would not have much impact on them because they could afford it.

It is also advisable to have a good financial backup because if one does not have any reliable source of income to sustain themselves, it would be too obvious that they would fall back on their investment, and that is not a good idea because you never can tell the market condition when they would need the backup if it is up or down which might affect their investment and countering their initial investment goal.

[LOVER BOY 422]

This is a very good idea,and I wish everyone could be able to follow it exactly the way it is to avoid regrets and pains in the future,but to me before I introduce anyone in Bitcoin I will tell the person what and how long it takes before you can be beneficial not just enter today and you expect to see money tomorrow no ,you have to invest and plan for it to see the pain in it and how long it takes before enjoying your fruit.

[Finestream]

The losses or profits you made in Bitcoin are on you, nobody is sharing that with you. You take responsibility for whatever investment decision you make, don't hold or blame anyone for that.

Avoid following crypto analyst predictions before you invest,  because you might invest all you have out of expectations of what they say about the market without having emergency funds at hand

Your investment, your rules, and be accountable whatever the outcome is. Just know that bitcoin isn't all about profit making, losses are inevitable as well.

We all turn into crypto analyst the moment we take risk our hard-earned money and invest into bitcoin. There is no room for blame game in this bitcoin investment, that's why study and observe bitcoin well how it moves in the market, how often its price drop low or rise high, as you can't rely for decision making with other crypto analyst or other bitcoin investors. Invest what you know and invest what you can afford to lose.

[Rockstarguy]

The right word should be investing with spare money there is nothing to lose when you invest in Bitcoin for a long term, remember not your keys not your coins this statement alone shows that after investing in Bitcoin you need to safeguard your keys and make sure only you have access to it so that you will not lose all you have suffered to invest in. The last thing is to have a good source of income before investing in Bitcoin this will make you not to think of selling your Bitcoin at loss when there is dip, avoid clicking on any links you come across to in the Internet so that you will not lose your holdings.

The security and privacy of an investor in Bitcoin are just as important as the Bitcoin you already have because when you don't understand security and privacy, it is very possible that you won't be able to keep any Bitcoin with you.

Security is the first thing one should understand before going into Bitcoin investment because it's when you understand this that even scammers can't take advantage of getting your assets.

Having an income plays an important role in acquiring Bitcoin, which means you should only invest an amount that you can afford, and if you want to have a good amount of Bitcoin, you just have to be consistent in buying it.

[Coyster]

it is sort of a headache to be their personal tech support for life too

If you introduce someone to bitcoin, i doubt you'd have to babysit them for too long. If they are smart enough, all you basically have to do is point them to the right direction, for example, inviting them to join bitcointalk forum. And also sharing useful educational links with them. If you get them in this way, which is the right way, you'd not have to hodl their hands for too long.

the psychological part of holding through a 50 percent dip is what most newbies cant handle, they see red and they panic sell immediately regardless of their income level

I can imagine buying a new asset and a few weeks later it loses around 30% of its value, it can definitely cause panic, so i understand. That is why it is imperative to learn about what you are about to buy, before doing so. If one takes out their time to study about bitcoin, including its past history, before purchasing it, they'd be more confident when they see red after buying it.

[Lucius]

Anyone who recommends a friend or acquaintance to invest in BTC should know that those people will (in one way or another) hold them responsible for everything that happens in the future. This means that if that person loses their coin in any way, you will be the first person they will blame, because losing money is hard to forgive.

Another thing that can result from that recommendation is that that friend will very likely tell one of his friends about it, and such stories spread quickly and can reach bad people who will assume that you are worth their visit.

My advice is to not go in that direction if you value your life and don't want someone to spend their whole life blaming you for losing money.

[aysha9853]

Before recommending Bitcoin, I think the most important thing is to make it clear that you are not giving financial advice many people hear Bitcoin and only think about price going up If they don’t understand volatility, self custody and personal responsibility, they will blame you the moment something goes wrong I only talk about Bitcoin with friends who already show interest and are willing to learn basics first.

[Somto9Light]

Before recommending Bitcoin, I think the most important thing is to make it clear that you are not giving financial advice many people hear Bitcoin and only think about price going up If they don’t understand volatility, self custody and personal responsibility, they will blame you the moment something goes wrong I only talk about Bitcoin with friends who already show interest and are willing to learn basics first.

Of course those who are interested in the game will walk up to you to seek for knowledge, they can't wait for you to advertise it for them. Me personally do not like making advert about bitcoin investment, you hardly figure out that I'm into bitcoin investment because I do my things in cool way I don't like creating awareness in whatever thing I'm doing, but I wouldn't mind telling those who might find it interested to invest into bitcoin but they shouldn't expect me to walk up to them because I could remember when I had zero knowledge about bitcoin investment then, I was not forced by anyone I just decided to do that myself so I'm expecting others to do the same.

[KingsDen]

One of the need to know before actually giving anyone an investment advice on Bitcoin is;

The need to understand the purpose for which that individual intends to invest. I think it’s one of the most important aspect to any recommendation at all. This defines just how well such individual would be able to handle the huddles that would come with investing in Bitcoin.

What other purpose of investment do they have if not to make profits. So, the most important thing is how to make profits and make it in a fastest way possible. This is why the newbies fall easily for scam involving high ROI.
I think what newcomers are supposed to know before investing in Bitcoin is that bitcoin is volatile. It has the ability to go up and also has the ability to come down. With this they can make informed decisions.