The latest investment fad is over. Bitcoin went from euphoria to revulsion inside of three months. Only a reality television marriage could turn uglier at a faster rate!
The proof comes in the form of this chart we’ve compiled that contrasts the weekly Bitcoin price with weekly Google search interest in the term ‘Bitcoin’. The stratospheric run upwards in price coincided with an all-time peak in Google search interest.
Let’s assume people wondered how they could get rich ASAP. Then as the price cratered, so did the search interest. As with any financial asset, when something falls in price no one wants to buy, even on discount – their first reaction is “why is it falling? Something must be wrong”. And in this instance, “I guess it won’t be as easy to get rich with Bitcoin as I thought.”
Despite the Bitcoin price rebounding back above $10,000, the search interest is now back where it was when the price was closer to $2,000 – the relative obscurity of mid 2017! Suggesting the great majority (hopefully) learned a lesson from the sidelines about speculation, though unlikely. They likely just learned Bitcoin won’t make them a millionaire. The lure of getting rich quick won’t be so easily shaken.
A whole expo industry across the world caters to the dreams of fast money. Pick your city and you’ll find a strange collection of celebrities prepared to offer their wealth insights every month of the year. Next month in Toronto you can visit North America’s Largest Wealth Expo the “Real Estate, Bitcoin Wealth Expo”.
Note the opportunism at play here, the assumed lure of Bitcoin hasn’t quite died. The 2017 Expo was just the “Real Estate Wealth Expo”, no Bitcoin!
If people think they can learn some investment secrets from Sylvester Stallone, a rapper, an ex-baseball player and an assortment of reality TV D-listers, good luck. Yet these events, and others like them that focus on various alternative investments, continually run. Highlighting heads are easily turned and people are willing to pay money to wander around a convention centre looking for the latest hot thing.
Investing needs to be partnered with a plan. It’s something that aligns with life direction and needs to be tied to goals. To be truly reliable, it needs to be evidence based with a strategy set in place for the long term.
Without an investment strategy and without a plan aligning to goals, the greater likelihood a person will spend their life flitting between fads, each likely to prove more disappointing than the last because it doesn’t serve their actual needs.
But they may get to meet Rambo, and won’t that be priceless?
This represents general information only. Before making any financial or investment decisions, we recommend you consult a financial planner to take into account your personal investment objectives, financial situation and individual needs.
