An independent investor, Jeffrey Wernick, has recently spoken to Business Insider, listing what he believes most people ”get wrong” about Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. Wernick is a long-time Bitcoin proponent who first started investing in the cryptocurrency back in 2009.

Wernick is no stranger to investing in nascent technologies. He has previously been an early investor in companies such as Uber and Airbnb, and he has worked at both Salomon Brothers and the National Bank of Detroit.

Wernick argues that the abstract nature of both Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, in general, makes it hard for people to easily grasp the concept. A contributing factor to this is that explanations for the cryptocurrency are oftentimes lacking.

In most cases, Wernick notes, ”people are explaining it as a payment mechanism”, meaning this does not tell the whole story. Rather, individuals should increasingly showcase that it is, in fact, a store of value, and they should similarly explain why it is also a good store of value.

In addition to this, he suggests that over the coming five years, Bitcoin is ”going to accumulate a lot more wealth than […] any other alternative investment”.

Nonetheless, Wernick also stressed that investors should not buy more than they can afford to lose, in the case that he is wrong.

The most amazing thing about Bitcoin’s valuation, Wernick argued, is that is has been able to achieve this despite governments and organizations that are, by nature, hostile towards Bitcoin.

Moreover, he highlighted the fact that philosophical Bitcoin advocates and investors have gradually been replaced – or at least joined – by individuals ”just looking for an alternative model to make money” and who are nonbelievers of the underlying philosophy of cryptocurrencies.

“I think everybody should put something into crypto”, Wernick said, adding that investors also need to be aware that there is definitely a first-mover advantage when it comes to cryptocurrencies.

”[T]he people who move first will make more money than those that move second, who’ll make more money than those that move third”, Wernick continued. Wernick went on note that as the adoption of Bitcoin grows, volatility will decrease.

Moreover, he suggested that the main source of volatility right now is not lack of adoption – rather, he argued that volatility in pricing chiefly stems from cryptocurrency-averse governmental policies.

Interestingly enough, Wernick stated that ”the government is creating this [volatility]”, which echoes the statements made by Commissioner Hester M. Peirce yesterday, which Toshi Times has previously reported.

Peirce said that governmental policies inhibit the institutionalization of the Bitcoin market, something which would dramatically reduce the volatility of both Bitcoin and subsequently the entire cryptocurrency market.

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