My attempts to spread crypto currency adoption

Today I will tell you about my experience in convincing some of my friends to enter the world of crypto currency. There are many scholarly articles on problems on mass adoption of crypto currency but mine comes from my personal experience trying to convince my friends.

My friends from my school days are an educated lot with middle class background. A few have been able to climb the socio economic ladder and can be said to be among the higher income group now. They are my age group that is approaching 50. In this group I am only the one who is dabbling in crypto currency, rest all are not interested. One is a particularly good stock investor and he is full time into it.

So he was my first target to try to bring in the crypto world. He compares the crypto phenomenon with the dot com bubble of the 1990’s and 2000’s. As per him the crypto bubble will also burst one day just as the dot com bubble did and will lead to major loss of money to those who are into it. He is also of the opinion that once this bubble bursts there will be no regulatory recourse to people who will suffer as there is no regulation. Every country has a stock regulatory authority which intervenes in framing rules and also acts as an arbitrator for disputes. In crypto there is no such framework. It is just like the Wild West. The crypto world is too new to dive into; it needs time to stabilize for bigger investors to find it comfortable to invest.

Warren Buffet and the Indian version of Buffet that is Rakesh Jhunjhunwala are dead against crypto currency. I told him they have dealt stock for their life so they are biased towards it or having less knowledge about crypto. He said they are intelligent investors and it is not that they don’t understand crypto but they are apprehensive now because of the above mentioned reasons. This friend of mine keeps himself updated about the happenings like the launch of Coinbase IPO. I asked if he had invested in Coinbase but he said no for the same above mentioned reasons. Then I told him at least he can do it for the quick money he can make in this bull market but still he was not ready for it and is happy with the stock market. So I failed.

Then I targeted another friend of mine who is financially well off. He had no idea of crypto currency, so I explained it to him. His point was when I can do everything with digital payment through fiat then why would I need a crypto currency for peer to peer payment. He said I am comfortable with using my debit/credit card for paying for my grocery purchase, gas, rent, and other shopping. Where digital payments are not accepted then it is even easier to make payments in cash. ATM’s are now available in every nook and corner so getting cash is very easy. He also said that why would I use an intermediary in the form of a crypto platform and increase my work load when I can directly deal with another person or establishment with fiat money. He said that he will have to register in a crypto platform, do the KYC, transfer fiat, then convert into crypto and then use it as a payment method. Particularly in India with the fog of uncertainty about crypto regulation still lingering, it will not be prudent to invest in crypto currency. So I failed here also.

Then I targeted another friend. We had all the discussions about what it is, how it works and the earning potential. This friend of mine is a conservative investor who has not gone beyond savings account and fixed deposits. In India a savings bank account earns between 2.5 to 3 percent per annum and fixed deposits earn about 5 to 7 percent per annum. As a prudent friend I told him clearly the earning potential during bull market and the massive market crash scenario in bear market. This possibility of losing money put him off. He said I am happy with my steady fixed deposit income rather than face the uncertainty of a high fluctuating market. For him accepting the fact that he might lose money in the process was not acceptable under any circumstances. I failed here also.

Then I tried with another friend. He also dabbles in stock market a bit. He said that it is just like stock market, only the instrument is different. He again said all about regulations. For him a stock has some intrinsic value based on the company results and balance sheet. There is something tangible we are dealing with.  Crypto currency is not a tangible asset and does not have any way to assess its value; it is all a speculative affair just like castles made in thin air. Such things will not last long or even if it last long then it will ultimately start losing its value. But he added only one thing, as I am his friend so he can put 1000 rupees (around 13 dollars). I failed here also.

Then I posted the following message 3 times in the Facebook group of the city I am residing - 'Anyone interested in knowing about crypto currency may contact me through messenger'. Not a single person responded though this group has 29.5k members. I also tried in a few WhatsApp groups I am in but again not a single response.

So a common man with limited or no knowledge about crypto currency is least interested about the block chain technology and its future potential. It doesn’t matter to him about the lofty ideas and principles behind the creation of crypto currency. The idea of a border less privacy feature without government intervention doesn’t matter to him. They are happy with the current system and do not want to try something ‘exotic’. The gave the above are the four types of logic for not entering the cryptoverse. Now I have stopped trying to convince anyone else of my friends as I know there answer will hover around one of the above. As my friends all know that I am the only one dealing with it, so I will wait for them to show interest and come up to me.