Ask HN: How do I convince my sister to stay away from investing in crypto?
I found out, by accident, that my sister is investing in crypto (bitcoin and ether). She is not a technology person. The fact that she did it without consulting me (the “computer guy” of the family, with an actual career in technology) is what bothers me the most: either she had no idea that this was a risky investment and thus did not think it was relevant to even ask me, or she knew it and actively avoided my opinion. Both situations are alarming. (What I actually think happened was that some kind of enthusiast friend convinced her.) How would you go about showing someone you love the dangers and harsh reality about crypto investments?
33 comments
[ 4.1 ms ] story [ 97.1 ms ] threadIf you had a relative in real estate would you not buy a certain house even if you felt like you did your due diligence and you really liked it? What if you had a friend in cars who had a strong opinion on Tesla?
I don't own any crypto - but also don't give my family too much financial advice unless they ask.
I am not long bitcoin or etherium but I definitely wouldn't call them scams at this point.
I'm also not sure why you think you are the only one with expertise on this. I am a programmer - so what if you are? You don't need to know how to code a blockchain to make a judgement on its future value anymore than you need to be a geologist to know the future value of gold.
What did fundamentally change that cause you to think it is not scam at this point?
I think this is the key reason for many of these people. They think just because something has existed for a longer time frame, it has fundamental value which is absurd to me.
It applies to diamond, gold, commodity, etc investments as well. The demand is purely artificial and based on historical context than usage.
From what you observed (feel free to cite articles) there are many cases of collapses and scams in crypto — with her being late to the game there is a real risk to lose a lot of money. There is of course also a chance to gain something, but she can't know.
The gist of it is that it is her decision, but that she has to weigh herself how much she is willing to risk to lose. You can only give her information on your perceived state of crypto, the risks involved etc. But in the end she decides. If she just wants risk she could as well just buy a thousand lottery tickets.
If she wants a safe investment this is something else. Crypto is not a safe investment.
Crypto isn't horrible, if you only put in what you're comfortable losing, have a long-term timeline, and invest in coins that have a history of retaining a reasonable value. Panic selling is a real danger, as volatility is the name of the game.
You're right to be concerned, but maybe a little enthusiastic about influencing her decisions. I would gently urge her with what facts I could but maybe go easy with the big brothering. Sometimes letting people make their own mistakes beats the risk of chasing them away with overbearing guidance.
Of course I don't know anything about your relationship with your sister so YMMV.
That sounds patronizing. I don't typically give my family members financial advice unless they bring it up first.
I would try to convince her to consult a financial advisor (I would even pay for it) and let her make her own decision after that.
That usually does it.
Show her the posts about people committing suicide after losing everything investing into LUNA.
People talk about Bitcoin going down but S&P 500 lost about 1/8 of its value as well.
What's weird, is that he poses two possible situations: a) she didn't know about crypto being a risky investment and b) she actively avoided his opinion.
Then he goes on to ask advice on a, but not b. But of course both can be true. Or none, but if she actively avoided his opinion, why would him giving unprompted advice now work?!
Maybe start by engaging her in a conversation about the topic. What does she think about crypto? If she already figures its akin to gambling, like any other kind of speculation, then it is probably fine.