How to talk to your relatives about crypto this holiday season

It’s time to whip out the turkey baster — the holiday season is officially here. As you wind down with your loved ones after a tumultuous year in the crypto space, you’re probably in for a few fascinating (possibly even heated) discussions about Bitcoin, blockchains and even Ponzi schemes.

As you prepare yourselves for these conversations and the side-eyes from friends and family, here are a few tips to bear in mind.

Keep the jargon out of it

We don’t know what we don’t know and jargon can cause the people you’re speaking to to feel detached from the subject at hand. While you may be tempted to tell them about the coins you’re “HODLing” or getting “rekt,” these terms might be completely foreign to those who aren’t involved in the crypto space in any way.

Simple language, on the other hand, can get your point across without alienating your loved ones. Explaining concepts such as decentralization, and dollar-cost-averaging is a great place to start. Other concepts that are easy to explain and tend to resonate with people who don’t know much about crypto are Bitcoin’s fixed supply and how crypto’s transparent nature differs from traditional finance’s more ambiguous, closed-off nature.

Our Learn Center features articles that are meant for beginners who want to learn the basics of crypto. The terms used in these simple, yet effective articles are a good starting point if you’re looking for ways to explain difficult concepts in the most uncomplicated way possible.

Self-custody

We’ve all heard the mantra, “not your keys, not your coins.” and while explaining this to your loved ones can be challenging, it’s necessary to reiterate that self-custody continues to be the safest way to hold your own cryptoassets.

Anyone with an internet connection can now buy and store their own cryptocurrencies, omitting counterparty risk. You alone can hold your own assets without needing to rely on a bank or any other financial institution. This is a big deal for many individuals, even those who don’t know much about crypto yet. Reminding your loved ones of this can also prevent them from losing their newly acquired coins.

If you know someone who has already bought crypto but has left it on an exchange, a hardware wallet (purchased directly from a reputable company, fully sealed) could be a thoughtful gift this season. Here’s our CSO, Nick Percoco with a video that will help your loved ones secure their crypto holdings.

Dealing with skeptical relatives

We don’t have any tips for this, we just want to remind you that even if you make valid points for crypto adoption, you might face resistance from skeptics. While it can be frustrating not to be understood, it’s also important not to try too hard to orange-pill friends who don’t want to learn about crypto.

This distrust for crypto is further exacerbated by its intangibility. You can’t physically hold ETH in your hands or leave the house with a few sats in your pocket to pay for a meal but they are still real assets.

We’ll simply have to wait for the next wave of adoption that might convert more skeptics to true believers. In the meantime, you can continue building your crypto holdings in the bear market by creating your Kraken account today.

These materials are for general information purposes only and are not investment advice or a recommendation or solicitation to buy, sell or hold any cryptoasset or to engage in any specific trading strategy. Some crypto products and markets are unregulated, and you may not be protected by government compensation and/or regulatory protection schemes. The unpredictable nature of the cryptoasset markets can lead to loss of funds. Tax may be payable on any return and/or on any increase in the value of your cryptoassets and you should seek independent advice on your taxation position.