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Bitcoin Foundation Boss Urges Cautious Investment (bbc.com)
The head of the Bitcoin Foundation, Llew Claasen, has urged people to invest "no more than they can afford" in the crypto-currency. From a report: He was speaking at the TEDGlobal conference in Tanzania about the potential for Bitcoin in Africa. Billions lack access to formal banking, but the uptake of mobile money means many are willing to embrace alternatives. Bitcoin had been adopted in Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya, he said. The digital currency had particular resonance in countries with volatile economies, he said. "It offers people a chance to protect their savings from government abuse of monetary policy. A lot of people in Zimbabwe are interested in it as an alternative financial system, but that is not an easy thing to do formally as we don't want to be perceived as wanting to disrupt economies," he told the BBC. The Washington-based Bitcoin Foundation is a non-profit organisation that promotes the use of Bitcoin around the world.
It's not stable, it's inconvenient, and it's easy to steal. Sounds about right.
I always get annoyed when investment-prodders say "Never invest more than you can afford." It's impossible to do so anyway. If i have $100, I can't invest $10,000 in anything. What they need to say is, "Don't invest more than they can afford to lose," but they don't want to because that would make the product they're selling seem like a bit of a gamble. Which it is.