Is Bitcoin currently for everyone?

The harsh reality is that Bitcoin isn’t for everyone, at least not yet.
Do you remember the first time that you heard about Bitcoin? It’s likely you had one of three reactions. You either flat-out ignored it, called it a Ponzi scheme, or even considered it to be some fake internet money that would never amount to anything. This is the reaction that most people have upon first hearing about Bitcoin. In fact, almost no one becomes interested in Bitcoin or can even understand its value or appeal the first time that they hear about it.

There is a popular theory in the Bitcoin market that the transformation required for a no-coiner to go from knowing absolutely nothing about Bitcoin to hearing about it for the first time, to finally investing in it takes at least 3 interactions with it. Either hearing about it from a friend or family member, seeing it on the news, or even having a life experience that forces them to learn about it.

Recent experiences such as the banking crisis in the US, and also record inflation caused the value of our savings to seemingly disappear overnight. People who were affected in these situations were forced to finally learn about Bitcoin.

After you have completely fallen down the rabbit hole of Bitcoin, there is no going back. You view it as the future. Not only will it help to change the world, but it will also help to change our lives financially as well. You also begin to want to help Bitcoin grow and help protect the future of the people we know. This is why so many of us try to teach our friends, family, co-workers, and acquaintances about Bitcoin. On the internet, Bitcoiners are often truly excited and generous with their time to help people who want to learn about Bitcoin.

We love to say that Bitcoin is for everyone, and that is true; but not yet.
The truth is that in the current world you either need to have one out of these three qualities to be interested in Bitcoin.
The first is that you need to be open-minded or curious. Most of the people who first got into Bitcoin were willing to listen to new ideas, and open-minded to what the future could hold. They were willing to take a chance on something as risky as Bitcoin, which had no guarantees. Being able to see how much potential it truly had.

The second mindset that you needed to have was to be interested in finance and investing. Unfortunately, while Bitcoin was much cheaper, not that many people actually knew about Bitcoin.

It was only the curious, cypherpunks, or people who kept up to date on everything happening in the finance and investing world. Once these people became aware of it, they still needed to have an open mind to be able to see its potential and begin investing in it. Most people simply aren’t thinking about money or investing and are simply oblivious to Bitcoin.

Finally, the last thing that you needed to have to get into Bitcoin was a real financial emergency that happened to you. People who live in countries that have seen hyperinflation instantly were able to understand the value and importance of Bitcoin. When banks around the world began collapsing, a whole new group of people were able to understand Bitcoin.

When the conflict between Russia and Ukraine broke out, more people learned, and the same with the Canadian trucker crisis as well. The sad truth is that most people won’t actually learn or become interested in Bitcoin until they really need it.

There will come a time when having Bitcoin isn’t thought of as an investment or even a high-risk asset. There will come a time when it is thought of the same as holding cash. When stores are accepting it, people don’t even need to think about it. That is the time when Bitcoin’s protocol will have progressed to the point. Bitcoin at this point will have already caused the largest transfer of wealth that the world has ever seen. Only then, will Bitcoin be for everyone.

-Caroline Sherman