FUD
Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt — negative sentiment (sometimes deliberately spread) intended to reduce confidence in an asset.
FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt) is a term borrowed from technology marketing that describes negative information — accurate or not — spread to undermine confidence in a crypto project, asset, or the sector as a whole. 'Spreading FUD' typically implies the information is exaggerated, misleading, or disingenuous.
Common FUD narratives in crypto have included 'Bitcoin will be banned by governments', 'Crypto has no real use cases', and 'Tether is insolvent'. Some FUD is genuine concern; much is coordinated attack by short-sellers, competing projects, or hostile state actors.
The charge of FUD is also sometimes weaponised to dismiss legitimate criticism. Distinguishing between constructive criticism and bad-faith FUD requires evaluating the quality of evidence and the incentives of the person raising concerns.