Crypto is just a scam (and other myths)

One of our community members recently asked how to respond when friends or family dismiss crypto as a scam. It’s a great question, because it shows how many myths and misconceptions still linger around this space. So in this email, I want to tackle a few of the biggest ones and share some clarity to help cut through the noise.

‘Crypto is a scam’
In many ways, I find it fascinating that people still think this way. We’ve come so far since 2017, when the crypto space really was the Wild West! These days, we have some of the biggest financial giants in the world building crypto products and adding it to their corporate treasuries. We even have governments exploring it for strategic reserves.

None of this is behaviour we’d normally associate with scams. In fact, it’s a powerful signal of just how legitimised this asset class has become.

We have to remember that institutions don’t just wander into anything for fun. They go through endless red tape, compliance, and approvals before touching a new asset. Which means they’re not entering this market for a quick trade – they’re in it for the long term.

So when you hear the ‘crypto is a scam’ line, know that it’s simply outdated thinking. You can debate the naysayers if you like, or choose to conserve your energy while you build your portfolio. Because when the next wave of adoption hits, you’ll be the one taking profit while others are rushing in.

‘Crypto has no real value’
This one always makes me smile. Would you say a decentralised currency with a fixed supply that governments can’t touch or inflate has value? What about the ability to send money peer-to-peer across the world in minutes instead of days? Or having an immutable record of every transaction ever made?

Most crypto investors think of Bitcoin as a digital store of value – like gold, but portable. But there are other sectors where the utility of this asset class really shines. Ethereum and other smart contract platforms underpin entire ecosystems of finance, gaming, and digital ownership. DeFi is disrupting banking and finance. And then there’s the intersection of AI and blockchain – which is only just beginning.

In my opinion, we haven’t even come close to realising the value that will emerge from this space.

‘Crypto is just a fad’
Some of the world’s most transformative inventions were once dismissed as fads – the internet, electricity, and the automobile, to name a few. Crypto is following that same path, only faster, because capital flows in from every corner of the globe and innovation builds in real time.

Every cycle adds more infrastructure, more regulation, and more institutional adoption. Which means the longer it survives, the stronger it gets. And if something has already survived for 16 years, outlived hundreds of headlines calling it ‘dead,’ and attracted the attention of the world’s biggest financial players, it’s safe to say it’s not a fad.

‘It’s too late to get in’
This one comes up a lot, especially now that Bitcoin has surpassed the US$100K mark. But here’s what we need to remember: believe it or not, we are still early.

The percentage of the global population that owns crypto is somewhere between 7–12%. Saying it’s too late to get in is like saying the early 2000s were “too late” to invest in the internet.

As I often say, the ‘Apples’ and ‘Amazons’ of crypto are yet to be invented. I believe the biggest growth is still ahead, and crypto will prove to be one of the greatest disrupters (and opportunities) of our lifetime.

The fact is, crypto is a genuine, taxed financial asset class. Bitcoin is the best performing financial asset of all time, blowing the returns of stocks, gold, bonds, and real estate out of the water. It now sits alongside gold as a recognised store of value, and the adoption we’re seeing from billionaires, corporations, and financial institutions is unprecedented.

The myths will always be there, just like they were with every great innovation in history. But for those who can see beyond the noise, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The decentralised future is being built right now, and you’re already ahead of the curve.