Everyone has to start somewhere with bitcoin. Have you ever had to deal with family and friends who don’t believe in digital money or say bitcoin’s a scam?

Trust us, you’re not alone.

A few Peers—community leaders and entrepreneurs on Paxful—revealed that the beginning of their bitcoin journey was far from smooth-sailing, but the lessons they’ve learned helped them reach where they are today.

How did you get introduced to bitcoin?

Frankline: One of my friends at school called Nash showed me how to trade step by step with his account. He was real with me and always there for me. He told me if I was not careful I’d end up getting scammed.

Francis: I was introduced to Paxful 5 months ago by a friend of mine called Nashon. He taught me everything. Two weeks later I started getting the fruits of the platform and I started spreading the gospel about Paxful. I’ve managed to get 21 affiliates, with 6 of them being active.

Paxful has made me financially stable and I’m now able to cater to my needs and support my family. I have engaged with many people through the platform and making friends worldwide.

Thank you Paxful, I wish I’d known you earlier! I don’t know any other platform that’s fast, safe, and authentic like Paxful.

What did your friends and family think when you started trading bitcoin?

Augustin: I personally didn’t have any anti-crypto prejudices from my family and friends. My mom doesn’t understand bitcoin and the whole crypto world very much but she has been very supportive since day 1 and is happy that I’m happy trading bitcoin.

My friends, on the other hand, know what I do and have been very supportive as well. Many of them want to learn about bitcoin and I also know many others doing something related to crypto.

Victoria: My mom was shocked at first because she didn’t understand how I could make money from bitcoin. My siblings were very keen and wanted me to tell them my experience.

Have you ever been scammed?

Raymond: All sorts of scams. I’ve experienced the 2016 ponzi scams, the market crash in 2017,  customers who just disappear with your money, or even banks that falsely take your money out. Well, all these experiences have made me stronger and smarter!

Alex: I got scammed and lost some major capital in 2018, but I never gave up and never will. Back then, the market was beginning to crash and I was careless and made poor choices.

When I lost my 2FA device and had my 2FA deactivated, that was when I got hacked and had another major loss. It was my fault though since I didn’t make sure that my account was safe before trading. Sometimes we just need to learn things the hard way!

How do you detect scammers?

Francis: I was scammed the first time I traded! But since then I’ve learned how to handle scammers. Some habits that have worked well for me include trading only with verified vendors and experienced vendors who have no negative feedback and at least 20 positive ones. 

Joyce: You can tell that someone’s a scammer from the way they speak! They always promise to return your money and honestly, that tone is alarming. Some of them might even try to befriend you and bring up a proposal that’s almost too good to be true.

Frankline: Scammers are desperate. They may try to get you to sympathize with the tough situation that they’re in. They’ll promise to send money back to you, but it never happens! If they guilt trip you, that’s a telltale sign of a scammer.

Parting tips for new traders

Obviously, people are going to think differently about bitcoin because of their personal experiences. From what our Peers told us, it’s important to have someone that’s knowledgeable and willing to guide you through the trading process.

Our teams work around the clock to keep bad guys out of our platform, but if you do happen to come in contact with one, cancel the trade! Remember, when something seems too good to be true, it probably is.