How to gift Bitcoin for Christmas? There are a few good rules of thumb for gifting any cryptocurrency (Bitcoin is obviously only one option), starting with one of the most obvious gift-giving hints applicable for ANY holiday gift of Christmas present–make sure the recipient actually WANTS your Bitcoin gift.
If you’re tempted to give cryptocurrency as a gift to someone who is barely computer literate, chances are good you’re wasting your time and money. You may as well buy them a Star Wars: The Mandalorian costume while you’re at it because chances are good it will have the same reaction. If it’s unwanted, your gift is a dud.
But for those who DO want or would be happy to receive cryptocurrency as a gift, here are some practical tips on how to do it.
How To Gift Bitcoin
Gifting any cryptocurrency like Bitcoin requires you to provide the public keys and the private keys to spend the currency. This means you’ll have to provide a wallet of some kind that contains the keys whether digital or physical.
There are varying degrees of risk associated with certain kinds of crypto wallets; you can use a paper wallet to gift bitcoin. This will contain public and private keys and usually some kind of QR code or related mechanism to allow for scanning to a digital wallet later on. The biggest risk factor with paper wallets for digital currency is that if you lose the paper or can’t otherwise remember or access the keys, the currency is basically LOST for good. Some companies turn a fair amount of coin (pun intended) by selling fancy paper wallets you can use to give cryptocurrency as a Christmas gift or for any other holiday present.
Consider A Hardware Wallet To Gift Bitcoin
A safer way to store cryptocurrency keys is via a hardware wallet which stores the same information on a paper wallet, but digitally. Hardware wallets often come as USB drives or other hardware and the basic risks associated with giving a Hanukkah gift or Kwanzaa gift in the form of cryptocurrency; if you lose the hardware wallet, you have lost your currency unless you have a backup of the keys somewhere.
Physical Coin Gifts
Yes, some companies manufacture “physical” Bitcoins or other cryptocurrencies. The coins themselves are NOT what has the value–there are still public and private keys to deal with in order to buy and sell using your Bitcoin even if it’s gifted to you in physical form. These “coins” are more symbolic in some cases of the value of the Bitcoin keys you get with the physical coin; some companies do manufacture “aspirational” physical Bitcoin gifts with precious or semi-precious metals intended to up the value the artifact itself and not simply have it act as a symbol for the value purchased.
When making purchases of cryptocurrency as a gift, be sure to research the companies you select the way you would with any important purchase; don’t assume all companies offering services to the crypto community are all fair, reputable, and customer-friendly. Do some research into the company you’re reviewing BEFORE you buy.
Joe Wallace is a writer and editor from Illinois. He was an editor and producer for Air Force Television News for 13 years, and has served as Managing Editor for publications including Gearwire.com, and Associate Editor for FHANewsBlog.com. He is also an experienced book and script editor specializing in non-fiction and documentary filmmaking
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