FUD is an acronym for ‘fear, uncertainty and doubt.’ It was traditionally used as a marketing strategy to persuade the target audience to adopt a particular perception through fear.
In the cryptocurrency scene, FUD is often used by cryptocurrency investors to refer to what they perceive as unfounded skepticism of cryptocurrency. FUD is often seen as the opposite of fear of missing out (FOMO), as the person experiencing FUD is afraid of investing in cryptocurrency due to the risks involved. This fear is largely based on the volatility of the cryptocurrency market, especially in regard to the tendency towards periods of hype and bullishness that is usually followed by a crash, as was most recently seen when Bitcoin (BTC) prices reached an ATH of nearly $68,000 USD on November, 8, 2021, followed by a gradual decline to $35,000 USD by January 22, 2022.
Other common fears are that cryptocurrency as a whole’s popularity will faulter once all of the possible Bitcoin has been mined, loss of crypto through losing a wallets address or password, purchasing or selling at the wrong time in response to either bullish or bearish market behavior, e-wallets, exchanges being hacked, excessive state regulations causing cryptocurrency to lose its allure, among others. Essentially, although FUD is an acronym comprising of three concepts, the primary diver is fear. Although people understand that it is possible to make a large windfall from cryptocurrency investments, they believe that the risk of losing their capital through bad timing, unforeseen occurrences or poor investment choices is greater.