It’s that time again — time to sit around the Thanksgiving table and catch up with loved ones while you have Bitcoin on the mind thanks to its recent price action.

Some see this time as an opportunity to convince said loved ones that they should get on the Bitcoin rocket ship because it’s headed towards the moon.

My humble advice: Don’t be that person.

As you’ve probably learned if you’ve been in the Bitcoin space for some time now, bitcoin’s volatility can be quite unsettling, and, therefore, it isn’t for everyone. In other words, convincing sweet Auntie Jane to ape into bitcoin probably isn’t going to end well.

While you may have personally benefitted from holding bitcoin for some period of time, it doesn’t mean others will have the same experience. Without some understanding of bitcoin’s cycles, most will panic sell when bitcoin’s price inevitably drops again.

With that said, if Uncle Bob asks you about Bitcoin because he’s heard that its price has gone up recently and he knows that you’re familiar with it, you can still point him in the right direction as far as onboarding resources (a far better strategy than becoming his personal Bitcoin advisor).

Below are some examples of such resources:

• Simple Bitcoin — This Bitcoin education app presents you with information on Bitcoin via digestible learning modules, and it rewards you with sats when you get a passing grade on the post-module quizzes. Uncle Bob will be grateful that you made learning Bitcoin so easy for him.
• Yzer — Yzer, another Bitcoin education app, goes much deeper into the technology and economic philosophy that underpins Bitcoin. Its curriculum is more extensive than Simple Bitcoin’s, but it also rewards you with sats for completing quizzes with passing scores the same way Simple Bitcoin does. Nerdy Cousin Linda will be pumped to learn who Friedrich Hayek and Ludwig Von Mises were thanks to this app.
• THNDR Games — With THNDR, you can earn bitcoin just for playing games. Whether it’s Solitaire, Snake or Tetro Tiles (a play on Sodoku), THNDR can help Auntie Katrina stack sats for doing little more than playing video games on her phone. Plus, THNDR teaches her how to use a Lightning wallet.
• Gemini Credit Card — If you have a family member that’s into credit card rewards, tell them that with the Gemini rewards card they can earn bitcoin for everyday purchases, including 4% back on EV charging and gas at the pump, 3% back on dining out and 2% back on groceries. The kicker here is that there’s no membership free. This is great for cheap Uncle Bruce who showed up to Thanksgiving dinner empty-handed yet again this year.
• Fold — Fold offers you a checking account through which you can make your monthly payments and earn bitcoin rewards in the process. Imagine doing nothing more than paying your electric bill and earning some bitcoin in the process. Fold’s annual membership fee is $100, or users can pay $10 per month to use the service. Sign up now and get three months free. Great for Black-Friday-deal-searching Aunt Crystal.

So, best of luck tomorrow, and remember to think twice before launching into philosophical diatribe on how Bitcoin is going to change the world or offering some ill-suited bitcoin-related financial advice based on little more than tidbits of information you’ve picked up while scrolling X.

Your family and loved ones likely don’t care about your magic internet money. If they do ask about it, they probably only care about using bitcoin to speculate so to get more U.S. dollars.

If your intentions are to get them to understand Bitcoin better and to slowly accumulate some without having to spend their hard-earned money on it, suggest the resources above and trust that some will find their way down the rabbit hole on their own.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This article is a Take. Opinions expressed are entirely the author’s and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.

Just hours after the U.S. election results were announced, I received messages from friends filled with striking assumptions. Some congratulated me, mockingly saying, “Congrats, your side won for Bitcoin.” Others expressed disapproval with remarks like, “It’s pathetic!” and “I’m shocked that Americans just voted for Hitler.” One friend said, “You were lucky to find safety in the U.S. as a refugee under Biden’s administration. Refugees and asylum seekers will now face a harder time here, but, hey, it’s still good for your Bitcoin.” Many of these friends work in high-level corporate jobs or are university students.

As a Green Card holder, I was not eligible to vote, but I recognize their huge disappointment in seeing their preferred candidate lose. Their frustrations were directed at me because they know I support Bitcoin and work in the space. I understand that making me a scapegoat says less about me and more about their limited understanding of what Bitcoin’s value represents.

I’m aware that in this highly polarized political landscape, ideological stereotyping becomes evident—not only during election season but also in spaces where innovative thinking should be encouraged. A prime example of this ideological bias occurred during the Ohio State University commencement, where Chris Pan’s speech on Bitcoin was largely booed by students attending their graduation ceremony. I admire the courage it took to stand firm in front of over 60,000 people and continue his speech. My guess is that most of these graduating students have never experienced hyperinflation or grown up under authoritarian regimes, which likely triggered an “auto-reject”’ response to concepts beyond their personal experience.

I’ve encountered similar resistance in my own unfinished academic journey; during my time at Georgetown, I had several unproductive conversations with professors and students who viewed Bitcoin as a far-right tool. Once a professor told me, “Win, just because cryptocurrency (he didn’t use the term Bitcoin) helped you and your people in your home country doesn’t make it a great tool—most people end up getting scammed in America and many parts of the world. I urge you to learn more about it.” The power dynamics in academic settings often discourage open-minded discourse, which is why I eventually refrained from discussing Bitcoin with my professors.

I’ve learned to understand that freedom of expression is a core American value. Yet, I’ve observed that certain demographics or communities label anyone they disagree with as ‘racist.’ In more extreme cases, this reaction can escalate to using influence to have people fired, expelled from school, or subjected to coordinated cyberbullying. I’m not claiming that racism doesn’t exist in American society or elsewhere; I strongly believe both overt and subtle forms of racism still persist and are well alive today.

Although bias and inequality remain widespread, Bitcoin operates on entirely different principles. Bitcoin is borderless, leaderless, and accepting of any nationality or skin color all while without requiring any form of ID to participate. People in war-torn countries convert their savings into Bitcoin to cross borders safely, human rights defenders receive donations in Bitcoin, and women living under the Taliban get paid through the Bitcoin network.

Bitcoin is not racist because it is a tool of empowerment for anyone who is willing to participate. Bitcoin is not Xenophobic because it gives those forced to flee their homes the power to carry their hard-earned economic energy across borders and participate in another economy when every other option is closed. For activists, often branded as ‘criminals’ by authoritarian regimes, it supports them through frozen bank accounts and blocked resources. For women, enduring life under misogynistic rule, Bitcoin offers a rare chance for financial independence.

Going back to the U.S. election context, Bitcoin not only levels the playing field for people in the world’s most forgotten places and darkest corners, but it also opens new avenues for U.S. presidential candidates to engage with this growing community. President-elect Donald Trump has made bold promises regarding Bitcoin, signaling a favorable policy. In contrast, Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign reportedly declined to support the Bitcoin community. Grant McCarty, co-founder of the Bitcoin Policy Institute, stated, “Can confirm that the Harris campaign was offered MILLIONS of dollars from companies, PACs, and individuals who were looking for her to simply take meetings with key crypto stakeholders and put together a defined crypto policy plan. The campaign never took the industry seriously.” I believe this is something most people may be unaware of, and confirmation bias often leads to the assumption that all Bitcoin supporters back every policy of the other side, including potential drastic changes to America’s humanitarian commitments such as refugee resettlement and asylum programs, anti-trafficking and protection of vulnerable populations, and foreign aid and disaster relief.

Most people around the world lack a stable economic infrastructure or access to long-term mortgages; they live and earn with currencies more volatile than crypto gambling and, in some cases, holding their own fiat currency is as dangerous as casino chips, or worse.

The Fiat experiment has failed the global majority. I believe that Bitcoin and Bitcoin advocates deserve to be evaluated on their merits and work on global impact, rather than through the binary lens of political bias, misappropriated terms, or factually flawed yet socially accepted diminutive categorizing, which allows them to opt out of learning and evaluating assumptions.

This is a guest post by Win Ko Ko Aung. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.