Why is it that speaking about money is seen with such cultural negativity?
As I see it, the "taboo" topics that are not to be publicly discussed are also the things where we have the most friction with others, the least understanding of others and often, the most issues and questions ourselves. Instead of having conversations on things like religion, politics, sex and money with those around us, we are encouraged to stay silent and instead make assumptions about people and processes. When we make assumptions, we tend to think that they are accurate be default.
A couple hours ago while sitting at the office, a colleague turned around from the desk in front and asked if I had been keeping an eye on crypto lately. After a couple of discussions in the past, he had decided to take the plunge (after years of interest on the sidelines) and buy a little Bitcoin and Ethereum - Just before it took a dive down to the recent lows. However, now it is about 30% up on where he bought and he is pretty happy - other than the "I shoulda waited" regrets.
What I find interesting is that this is a conversation that took place when no one else was around and in hushed tones, like what we were talking about is socially unacceptable - because it is. It isn't acceptable to talk about money or investing socially with people we aren't very well acquainted, as to do so is seen as base behavior, showing off or perhaps exclusionary against those who can't afford to invest.
The problem that I have with this cultural rule is that not discussing it openly is the exclusionary position, as most people on earth do not have much experience with economic or financial process knowledge - even though all are participants. The difference between a kid raised in an environment that increases financial knowhow or not, can be quite profound on life later.
When applied to a new technology or financial vehicle like Bitcoin and blockchain, it slows down the uptake through a lack of awareness, but also encourages assumption-based decision making, with many of the assumptions being built on poor information sources, including movies. There is a lot of FUD out there which is reported by "reliable" sources that people, by which people are influenced.
Now, while we were talking, another colleague (a close friend of the other) overheard and then we started talking about various aspects of it. He himself is an investor who has been playing with stocks (including startups) for years - and a few minutes later, he set himself up with a Coinbase account.
What is interesting is that we have been talking about this stuff for a year and a half already (when BTC was 3500-ish), but he never took the plunge. Once there was a little social proof through the discussion, it took minutes to make the decision.
A lot of what holds people out of investing isn't necessarily the lack of funds, it is the lack of support to make the move and the feeling that one is alone as an investor. This increases the personal responsibility, but also the feeling of risk. When there is a group of close friends doing similar, there is more sense of the, "win together, fail together" mentality as well as a bit of peer pressure and FOMO.
With more open discussion around topics, the topics themselves lose their taboo status and get normalized in society. When this is applied to the hidden pain points of our life like financial issues, it demystifies the processes as well as allows people an open forum to discuss and develop their own opinions and methodology. I think open discussion is a major strength of Hive as it brings all kinds of people into the fold as a community and encourages them to discover what many people never do - Investing isn't scary.
There are risks of course, but as long as one has a good understanding, the potential for loss is a known limit - with the potential for gain being the unknown variable. You can only lose what you put in and if one only plays with value that they are already willing t lose completely - there is no reason to fear.
What was also interesting in the discussion is that the person who had bought BTC earlier was really enjoying the game of investing - the looking at the apps and the price and speculating on the ups and downs. He said that for the amount he put in, even if he loses it all, he has enjoyed the learning about the scene and loves the ability to interact more directly with his investment more often.
Again, a good sign for the future of Hive, where ownership and active participation is encouraged and counted as part of the investment.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]