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The Bitcoin Paradox


The Bitcoin Paradox

The unnoticed paradox taking over the tech-savvy. 



So you have heard or probably bought some bitcoins - the blockchain based cryptocurrency which has taken over New York and London like nothing ever before. But are you aware of the paradox associated with the bitcoins being experienced by the technology savvy? This article will take you over the Bitcoin Paradox and lets you diagnose if you are experiencing this paradox without being aware of it.

The World of Paradoxes


Let’s say there is a town in Italy in which there is just one male barber. All men in that town either shave or visit the barber. So on the surface, it seems that there are two categories or “sets” of men - those who shave and those who visit the barber. Right? Think again! To which category or “set” would the male barber belong? 

That was an example of the famous Russel's Paradox. Is there a paradox associated with the bitcoins too? For bitcoins are just mined ! What possibly could be a paradox in the names of blockchain based cryptocurrencies?

Bitcoins and Paradox




Bob is a software engineer who proudly owns 2 bitcoins. Don’t laugh it off! In case you haven’t been following the US Dollar to Bitcoin exchange rate, at the moment this article was being written 1 bitcoin was valued at more than $6000. So Bob actually has more than $12,000 in the form of bitcoins. 

We asked Bob as to why did he purchase bitcoins in the first place? Was it because of the future prospects? He nodded and emphatically mentioned that he loved technology and he thought that what better a marriage of the investment world and the technology world could an investor think of in modern times than bitcoins. While Bob is right in saying that bitcoins are one of the finest union of the two worlds in terms of an investment opportunity. This is where the paradox starts unbeknownst to most.

Financial decisions and financial planning require a lot of objective assessment and decision making because it involves charting of financial goals and involves factoring in insurance, mortgages, credit card bills, lines of credits and the list goes on. This certainly requires equanimity. However, if we all analyze deeply we will realize that Bob and many other tech-savvy people are purchasing bitcoins because bitcoins are associated with technology without realizing that just like several other financial investment opportunities it also has potential downsides. 

Going back to our original premise that financial planning and investment requires objectivity and equanimity and considering that there are so much risk and regulatory obstacles associated with the bitcoins, why shouldn’t we consider investing in regular opportunities such as equities, futures, options, ETFs etc. in addition to just investing in bitcoins. When we posed this question to Bob he didn’t seem as interested in them as he was in investing in bitcoins.



This brings us to the paradox that whereas financial planning requires equanimity and objectivity why do tech-savvy fans of bitcoins such as Bob and many others choose bitcoins with enthusiasm over regular financial investment opportunities such as stocks and bonds. To which class do the Bitcoin investors belong the - the emotional optimists or the rational and composed investors because the emotional attachment with bitcoins on account of being tech savvy doesn’t go well with equanimity and objectivity that financial planning warrants.

Thus the investors and enthusiasts of bitcoins have to think deeply and look within as to why they are investing in bitcoins? Is it simply because bitcoins have a technological origin and which makes the tech-savvy think that since bitcoins are mined using computers and since they are tech-savvy therefore they must invest in bitcoins or is it because bitcoins are a good investment. We are just asking questions and are looking for answers.


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Location: New York, NY, USA

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