If you bought Bitcoin way back in the day, you’re still sitting pretty.

If you bought Bitcoin back in, say, December 2017, it’s an altogether different story.

Every time we write about Bitcoin (like here, and here, and here), we come in for stick from people who own the cryptocurrency, and I guess this time will be no different.

Hey, all we’re doing here is showing you the results of a new study by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), a “conduct regulator for 58 000 financial services firms and financial markets in the UK”.

Those results were covered in the Telegraph:

Consumers buying Bitcoin are behaving like problem gamblers, becoming delusional and obsessed with their investments, the City watchdog has warned…

The review likens buying these digital currencies to gambling, concluding that few investors have a good understanding of what they are purchasing. The watchdog said many consumers referred to buying a “whole coin” suggesting they were unaware they were usually purchasing just a fraction.

According to the review, most respondents believed that making a profit was “highly likely or even inevitable” with only a few understanding the true high level of risk. The FCA said this bore similarities with the kind of “distorted thinking” that makes problem gamblers believe they can out-smart slot machines.

It said: “Like online gamblers repeatedly checking their bets, some respondents admitted behaviours such as compulsively checking the value of their portfolios.”

If you’ve ever shared an office with a Boetcoin Bro, you’ll be able to relate to that last sentence. Strange, they have become rather less vocal since the price of Bitcoin plummeted.

The same study did state that whilst the actual harm caused by cryptocurrency trading may be lower than expected, “worryingly more than one in 10 respondents said they used their long-term savings to buy the digital coins”.

Look, don’t shoot the messenger. I’m sure you know loads about Bitcoin, and it’s going to bounce back soon, and you’ll be rich and laughing all the way to the bank.

In that case, we’ll be happy for you.

[source:telegraph]