Apart from relaxing on the couch with a cold beer, surrounded by the family, fathers don’t really need much. We already have our families. I say this as a father of three having recently given birth to our third child to my eight year old wife.
If you think about it, most things eventually end up in the trash. I like to refer to many of the toys that we are given to our children as “future garbage”. It’s an unfortunate by-product of the fiat society we live in. What’s a surefire way to grow earnings year after year? By making products that don’t last long.
I’m not saying that’s even the intention; it’s just the current state of affairs. Reduce costs at any cost. After years of iterating in this system, we have fundamentally changed from a manufacturing to a consumer society where products just don’t last long.
So instead of spending around $100 on a thoughtful gift that will inevitably end up in the trash, why not think about it for a longer period of time? A low time preference gift, if you will. Go ahead and get the kids to draw some pictures and paint some rocks, things I’m proud to display in my office, and save a few bucks for something that will last a while.
Below are some bitcoin related gifts for different types of dads.
For the low time preference or bitcoin curious dad
The first thought that came to my mind was basically just buying bitcoin. A rough 33x multiplier would take bitcoin to $1 million, meaning a $100 bitcoin purchase would become about $3,300. Assuming we avoided a hyperinflationary catastrophe, this is probably still a pretty solid vacation for you and the family.
Better yet, why not start an auto-buy bitcoin with a solid bitcoin company like Swan or River? As little as $25 a week or month will do wonders for your spending power over time. As Michael Saylor likes to say, get a piece of this prime digital property while it’s still affordable for ordinary people. With 21 million bitcoins in circulation, even owning a whole coin is not enough for all the millionaires in the world. Start stacking for your favorite dad today.
If your dad hasn’t interacted with bitcoin before, I would recommend a small bitcoin gift from the local bitcoin ATM. To claim the bitcoin gift, he needs to set up a wallet and possibly complete a transaction to withdraw so he can see how the network actually works.
Even if your dad sells, he’ll need to learn the network, have wallet experience, and create an account with an exchange like River that he can come back to when he realizes he’s made a horrible mistake.
But for the dad looking to appreciate his new bitcoin gift, I recommend starting with a wallet. For wallets, I really like BlueWallet. You can even help him set up a multisig solution using just a combination of mobile phones.
Recently I also came across a cool idea to help the less techy save in Bitcoin and manage their private keys. The idea came from one of my bitcoin buddies who published an article about gifting bitcoin to his parents with a physical wallet from Ballet. The basic idea is the bitcoin wallet existing as a physical card with a single solution. This method requires a relatively high level of trust in the manufacturer, so I wouldn’t necessarily recommend storing your life savings with it, but it could be a nice way to get someone into bitcoin.
For the sovereign individual father
If your dad is already a bitcoiner, it might help to get him a hardware wallet and some essential backup hardware to secure his sovereign stack. Even if you already have one, there are always new technological developments that lead to greater ease of use and security. The cold card is a classic choice with tons of features. Coinkite just released an updated version, the Mk4, which can give your favorite dad the opportunity to experiment with different security protocols to ward off would-be attackers.
Conveniently, coldcard is one of the hardware devices supported by managed multisig providers like Casa and Unchained Capital. Security no longer has to be intimidating. Unchained will even help your dad set up a self-directed IRA to turn his retirement account into non-confiscible, tax-deferred capital to help him in his transition to a brighter future. Unchained also supports bitcoin-secured lending, so he doesn’t even have to sell!
Both institutions also support more user-friendly devices like Trezor and Ledger. Personally, I like the ease of use of QR-enabled devices like Passport and Keystone Pro. Don’t let dad forget to secure his private keys in steel. I prefer black seed ink. Just make sure he remembers where he accidentally lost them on the next boat trip.
Another cool idea would be to get your dad his own Bitcoin Full Node to verify his own transactions and enforce blockchain rules. There are out-of-the-box solutions like The Sovereign Machine, nodl, and the Ronin Dojo. They each have their own advantages and trade-offs, but fortunately Bitcoin Magazine has already published a lot of research, so I don’t have to spell it here. Just know that there are also many DIY solutions that cost a lot less.
For the bitcoin skeptical dad
socks. You don’t earn bitcoin.
Just kidding.
If Dad is more intellectual, I would recommend a well thought out and beautifully written book like Bitcoin Is Venice. It’s a pretty dense read, but incredibly thought-provoking and logical. If he’s on the fence, this can help your dad jump onto the lifeboat.
If Dad is the finance guy, I could recommend some of my personal favorites: Layered Money, The Bitcoin Standard, and The Bullish Case For Bitcoin. According to legend, “The Bullish Case For Bitcoin” was the track that spiced up the legendary Chad himself: Michael Saylor.
Another way would be a subscription to the Bitcoin Magazine print output. Surprisingly, for the most part, financially literate people view Bitcoin as a scam or pyramid scheme. The stories in the magazine can help your father see Bitcoin as a fundamentally world-changing technological development. It’s so much more than a “price-boosting” technology. It is fundamental to maintaining your freedom.
Bitcoin is the gift that always gives
Bitcoin is a hedge against inflation; it is a hedge against tyranny. It is an open and permissionless monetary network all wrapped up in one. With gas and food prices continuing to hit all-time highs, it might be the best time to try and get your dad to jump on the life raft.
This is a guest post by Mickey Koss. The opinions expressed are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc. or Bitcoin Magazine.
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