Bitcoin in the past and today - how much has the perception changed?

[Lucius]

It is interesting to look at what people thought about Bitcoin some ten years ago and compare it with what they think today. In the particular video from 2013, some participants in the conversation were obviously very worried about the possibility of hacking Bitcoin itself - while others tried to explain to them that such a possibility is very small, which is quite clear to anyone who has any idea how complicated the cryptography that powers BTC is.

Looking back and comparing with today, can we conclude that not much has changed in how some people perceive Bitcoin?

[God Of Thunder]

There are some people you will never be able to convince, no matter how strong your evidence is or how much you explain it to them. So, no matter what some people think, we should not care about them. Think about yourself: at one point, you were not where you are today, and some people never believed in you, but you are here today. Bitcoin will never be able to convince everyone. It does not need to convince anyone. There will always be people who will take it negatively. Everything has two sides, a negative and a positive. So does Bitcoin.

I never relied on others' opinions about how good or bad could be the Bitcoin. I have used it and experienced the movement, and after using Bitcoin for a couple of years, I strongly feel it has potential. If my wallets get hacked, it's my fault. I cannot blame Bitcoin for that.

[yhiaali3]

I cannot speak for everyone, but I am speaking about the environment around me and my local community. There are many people here who still do not understand what Bitcoin is and still think that it is central and that there are those who control it secretly.

Many people, due to their ignorance of Bitcoin, the way it is formed, and the way it works, think that there is someone issuing Bitcoin. What is funny is that some of them believe that Bitcoin was created to control the world by making people believe that it is a decentralized currency.

There are a lot of misconceptions about Bitcoin, but overall I think we are making good progress as time goes on and knowledge about Bitcoin spreads.

[EluguHcman]

While you made mentioned of 10 years ago and the changes, I am a testimony that a lot has really changed in the existence of Bitcoin because years back I heard of Bitcoin, I was also in doubt that it could be real as it was brought to my acknowledgement.
A lot of people in my region has also been in doubt of Bitcoin but right today there is a wide spread of Bitcoin adoptors including me and others.

So that typically states that there had been a big margin of changes within Bitcoin existence and the masses.

[MrSpasybo]

There are some people you will never be able to convince, no matter how strong your evidence is or how much you explain it to them. So, no matter what some people think, we should not care about them. Think about yourself: at one point, you were not where you are today, and some people never believed in you, but you are here today. Bitcoin will never be able to convince everyone. It does not need to convince anyone. There will always be people who will take it negatively. Everything has two sides, a negative and a positive. So does Bitcoin.

I never relied on others' opinions about how good or bad could be the Bitcoin. I have used it and experienced the movement, and after using Bitcoin for a couple of years, I strongly feel it has potential. If my wallets get hacked, it's my fault. I cannot blame Bitcoin for that.

I prefer numbers because they can speak volumes for us. The Bitcoin mining network is more powerful than hundreds of top computers worldwide, making it virtually impossible for an individual or organization to launch a network attack on Bitcoin. The only risk is when the top BTC mining companies collaborate to manipulate the network, which is also unlikely because they can make more profit by playing by the rules of the protocol.

We have entered a new era of BTC: information about BTC is everywhere on the internet, and everyone can easily access it. We don't need to convince those who don't like BTC or enlighten them about a new asset class. If they don't want to understand, they don't deserve to understand BTC.

• The bitcoin network is now more powerful than the top 500 supercomputers, combined

[God Of Thunder]

We have entered a new era of BTC: information about BTC is everywhere on the internet, and everyone can easily access it. We don't need to convince those who don't like BTC or enlighten them about a new asset class. If they don't want to understand, they don't deserve to understand BTC.

But unfortunately, we won't be able to convince them no matter what we say. They will always throw a counter question and ask what if this happens, and that happens. I want to rephrase your word and it should be If they don't want to understand, they don't deserve the profit of Bitcoin. No one should blame an asset because they cannot manage it or do not understand it.

If I do not understand the technology behind the Airplane, I will always be scared of it and say it will crash and I don't want to die in a plan crash. Eventually, I will end up flying in a plane when it will be necessary for me. So, I don't think anybody wants to convince me by saying it's safe enough. We all know that accident happens. Our wallets may get drained if we use them carelessly. But, we shouldn't blame Bitcoin for that.

[Lucius]

~snip~
A lot of people in my region has also been in doubt of Bitcoin but right today there is a wide spread of Bitcoin adoptors including me and others.
So that typically states that there had been a big margin of changes within Bitcoin existence and the masses.

Maybe in that case, perception has something to do with where someone lives, because I haven't noticed that people around me have changed their opinion about Bitcoin too much - except that some are very envious of those who have secured a better future for their families by investing in BTC.

If we look globally, changes have definitely happened, but in terms of percentages, I don't believe that today we have more than 5% of the world's population who own BTC, and in the context of the fact that it has existed since 2009, for me personally it is not too great success.

Maybe it will take another 15 years for some significant changes to happen, and by then Bitcoin will be extremely valuable or maybe worth almost nothing - I don't see any middle option.

[0t3p0t]

While you made mentioned of 10 years ago and the changes, I am a testimony that a lot has really changed in the existence of Bitcoin because years back I heard of Bitcoin, I was also in doubt that it could be real as it was brought to my acknowledgement.
A lot of people in my region has also been in doubt of Bitcoin but right today there is a wide spread of Bitcoin adoptors including me and others.

So that typically states that there had been a big margin of changes within Bitcoin existence and the masses.

The only change I have noticed aside from numbers or it's value that keeps on increasing is that adoption is much more quick these days compared to the doubtful or hesitant years back then. Bitcoin as payment also changed but I think with the fluctuations of fees it will change again as transition as masses treat Bitcoin more of an investment rather than for payment purposes.

[Kemarit]

While you made mentioned of 10 years ago and the changes, I am a testimony that a lot has really changed in the existence of Bitcoin because years back I heard of Bitcoin, I was also in doubt that it could be real as it was brought to my acknowledgement.
A lot of people in my region has also been in doubt of Bitcoin but right today there is a wide spread of Bitcoin adoptors including me and others.

So that typically states that there had been a big margin of changes within Bitcoin existence and the masses.

Perhaps you are talking about adoption. But if you watch the video itself, yeah pretty much the same as where we are, it is being compared to gold, used by criminals, not universally accepted by online stores, the difficult to mine Bitcoin and regulations. So 11 years later, we are still in this kind of perception. Not many nations are into it and today, it is only El Salvador that accepted it as legal tender.

But in terms of gaining traction from masses, yeah, it could be, we don't have the numbers. However, I think we are slowly getting into that nevertheless it might take years or even another decade for adoption to come.

[God Of Thunder]

The only change I have noticed aside from numbers or it's value that keeps on increasing is that adoption is much more quick these days compared to the doubtful or hesitant years back then. Bitcoin as payment also changed but I think with the fluctuations of fees it will change again as transition as masses treat Bitcoin more of an investment rather than for payment purposes.

I agree with that as well. People used to use Bitcoin as a payment method. But, the use case has been changing slowly as people started to understand that Bitcoin gives a good return on investment in the long run. Another thing is people stopped using Bitcoin as a payment method because of the ridiculous transaction fees. I initially hated the BRC-20 things which congested the mempool. But I understood one thing it will help to build an ecosystem like Ethereum. I hope the fees will continue to be normal.

[Makus]

Comparing how people saw Bitcoin then and now, the difference is quite large and obvious for anyone to know that Bitcoin is a genuine network. Many of those critics who once advice other not to by, are now into Bitcoin investment. I heard the speaker saying Bitcoin isn't rear LOL, That was in the initial stage, and considering the amount of Bitcoins that was in circulation then, it was still scarce. Bitcoin was indeed created for all but not everyone has accepted or is willing to accept Bitcoin, though the government is also a barrier to some persons that wishes to accept Bitcoin but the restriction keeps them from accessing Bitcoin.

I agree with that as well. People used to use Bitcoin as a payment method. But, the use case has been changing slowly as people started to understand that Bitcoin gives a good return on investment in the long run. Another thing is people stopped using Bitcoin as a payment method because of the ridiculous transaction fees. I initially hated the BRC-20 things which congested the mempool. But I understood one thing it will help to build an ecosystem like Ethereum. I hope the fees will continue to be normal.

I doubt that the fees will continue to be normal. It certain that when mining has ended and new Bitcoin are not being generated into the system again, miners will only get rewarded from the transaction fee, and at that stage the transaction fees will increase drastically, but before then I believe the reduction of the mining reward by the halving is likely  to trigger the increase of transaction fee.

[taufik123]

-snip-
Another thing is people stopped using Bitcoin as a payment method because of the ridiculous transaction fees. I initially hated the BRC-20 things which congested the mempool. But I understood one thing it will help to build an ecosystem like Ethereum. I hope the fees will continue to be normal.

Yes, it really doesn't make sense when the network is very congested and transaction fees soar very high,
one of which is due to the surge in BRC20 and Ordinal network transactions.

But this is a new stage for bitcoin, developers will certainly find out how the surge in transactions does not cause too extreme cost increases.
At least, now it only happens for a short time, if the cost is expensive, then postpone it until the cost drops back to normal costs.

[Roseline492]

The only change I have noticed aside from numbers or it's value that keeps on increasing is that adoption is much more quick these days compared to the doubtful or hesitant years back then. Bitcoin as payment also changed but I think with the fluctuations of fees it will change again as transition as masses treat Bitcoin more of an investment rather than for payment purposes.

That's true because in terms of acceptance we cannot compare those days when people were so skeptical about Bitcoin which makes the acceptance to be more difficult for people to come into but as time goes by that's how people are learning about Bitcoin and the potential it has and from there they began to see reasons why they need to invest on Bitcoin, though it may not still be acceptable by everyone now but with time there would be a serious influx on Bitcoin.

However sometimes I can't help but wonder how far Bitcoin price will be in the future because considering how it was years ago and now you will have the insight that years to come it would be shocking and surprising for everybody because the more the adoption of Bitcoin that's actually the more is getting more potential.

[Zed0X]

The hacking was pretty common attack but I didn't know they also use counterfeit back in the day

There are more videos that I always find it funny whenever I see them on social media - $100 vs. 1 BTC

The street interview was done 2 years ago but it probably wouldn't change that much if they ask random people today. Like one comment in the video says, a lot of people still have no clue.

[TomPluz]

People's perception on Bitcoin has changed a lot within the 10 years timeframe as Bitcoin is now an accepted asset - traded a lot all over the world just like gold, stocks and forex. Right now, no one can anymore say that Bitcoin is a scam and will just die anytime. Bitcoin has survived the test of time and surely will be here to stay for the next many decades if not forever (if there is such a thing!). While there can still be people who might harbor some misinformed ideas on Bitcoin, I am sure their numbers are slowly fading and we should not expect all people to like Bitcoin anyway just like not all are into investing with gold and just like the fact that not all have their own cars. Even the idea that Bitcoin is bad for the environment is also evolving as there are now many mining operations using green and sustainable power sources. Right now, we have one country that adopted Bitcoin as its national currency and we have the Wall Street via ETFs recognizing the value of Bitcoin. In the next 10 years, for sure there will be more positive developments for Bitcoin that can catapult it as the very symbol of cryptocurrency all over the world.