There were expressions of how the boat had been missed terribly when clearly the opportunity was there. The trending cries have been "I should have bought more."
Cointelegraph decided to look into whether the members of the crypto community are afflicted by the "I should have bought more" syndrome. Their feelings were a mix of procrastination, fear and a lack of belief in Bitcoin at the time.
Wait and see
Joe Shepherd, a Pagosa Springs, Colorado resident believes that he missed the boat because of procrastination.
"I wish I had bought 100 coins when it was $40 when I first learned about it from an African friend. I guess it is too late now since I resorted to the wait and see approach.”
For the Founder/Developer of Bitcoin Tracker, David Desantis, he bought enough but ended up using it for something else. When the question was put to him, this was his answer:
"Yeah well, of course, but I wish I hadn't invested them all away. At least I kept a few in my wallet."
Fear of the unknown
Moreover, the fear of buying a pig in a poke also accounted for why many were hesitant. One person who is blaming himself for not buying more is John Wainaina Samson Karanja of BitHub Africa, a Nairobi-based Blockchain start-up. However, he attributes his decision to an exercise of caution looking at the fact that the technology was in its early stage:
"I think people should not risk more than they are willing to use. The technology is still experimental but apparently becoming more resilient by the day. Having just 1-3 Bitcoin is more than enough, even for people who are confident."
Rallyup posted this on Reddit and gave us permission to quote him:
"I had $20k in the bank, was about to buy 1000 coins at $17 a piece after observing them rise from $15 to $17 shortly after first learning about Bitcoin. I was excited until some unforeseen circumstances cost me $10k, and I was afraid to spend the remaining $10k because "something might happen and I might need the money." Well, later that year I was kicking myself for not going in and spending the whole $20k. I was blinded by fear and uncertainty back then."
Altcoins
Alexandro Colorado, a software developer, IT consultant and resident of Cancun, Mexico said that it freezes him up for not hoarding enough, but thinks there is so much focus on Bitcoin alone:
"I think people should talk more about the other Altcoins like Steem, Grantcoin, SolarCoin, NEM, etc. It always gets tiring talking about Bitcoin and Ethereum."
Significantly, it is not too late to see Bitcoin as a store of value, as experts have predicted a four-figure price in 2017. It is, therefore, imperative to buy and save whatever you can afford today. Let Bitcoin be the gift for your family, friends and loved ones in this festive season of love and sharing.