As Bitcoin eyes $100,000 and “Peanut the Squirrel” grabs headlines with 3,000% gains, crypto is firmly back on the menu this holiday season. Family debates about Bitcoin, meme coins, and “that dog thing Elon tweeted” will no doubt spice up the dinner table, and you, as the designated ‘crypto expert,’ will need some talking points to WIN those arguments.
Crypto Is Libertarian Madness
Trump’s candidacy and win sparked the latest crypto bull run, and many associate it with the worst excesses of MAGA and Elon’s DOGE trolling. For your left-leaning relatives, seeing crypto ardently defended by the new Republican administration will do little to help your case. If your true-blue cousin won’t buy Bitcoin because of its red-and-orange ties, pivot to the facts instead.
Point out that Bitcoin is a currency that can be used by people of all beliefs, making it inherently apolitical and a movement that can unite us all. Reference Jason Maier’s book, “A Progressive’s Case for Bitcoin,” which dispels many misconceptions about Bitcoin and highlights its origins as a protest against too-big-to-fail banks, its ability to help poor and marginalized communities, and its potential to create a sustainable environment. While price action may be spurred by policies, crypto itself shouldn’t be a partisan issue.
Crypto Is a Memecoin Casino
Somewhere between the deviled eggs and the turkey, your next battle will be meme coins. With top-performing coins like PEPE, DOGE, and SHIB, and newcomers like PNUT delivering explosive returns, Aunty Cynthia has heard about the memecoin craze and she’s got some opinions to share.
While POPCAT, BONK, and MOODENG are capturing culture and community in ways that make insiders smile, the flip side is they make our industry look rather delusional. When trying to get pension funds and family offices to allocate to crypto, it’s hard to argue the merits of Fartcoin, no matter how many brussels sprouts you’ve eaten. The memecoin craze is fun but shouldn’t overshadow crypto’s real power to bring better, faster, more effective financial services to the world. It’s simple—for the 1.4 billion people locked out of traditional financial systems, crypto is a better way to store value, access lending, and build wealth, empowering them to control their financial futures. That said, when it comes to it, memecoins are an incredibly novel new form of expression and participation in finance that can provide a sense of community and ownership missing from most polarizing social discourse on centralized platforms.
Cryptos Are No Different Than Stocks
The launch of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs this year has some saying crypto is just another payday for Wall Street suits. While folks like BlackRock’s Larry Fink may help onboard more Boomers into crypto, they’re missing the point. Cryptocurrencies are the antithesis of stocks and other TradFi assets managed and held by centralized custodians. Digital assets are yours to own. They’re decentralized, unseizable, peer-to-peer, require no central authority, and often have additional utility beyond just a means of exchange and store of value.
The decentralized finance (DeFi) sector has opened up so many opportunities and leveled the playing field for everyday individuals to access sophisticated financial instruments, earn decent APY, or take out permissionless loans. No ONE can take your crypto from you if it’s stored properly under your control, or halt trading to prevent you from claiming your funds. It’s fundamentally different from traditional finance.
Crypto Is a Risky Investment
Many who got interested in crypto during the last bull cycle promptly fell victim to ONE of the biggest financial frauds in US history. And those tired of waiting for price appreciation sold their holdings at an inopportune time. Everyone knows a cousin, nephew, or niece who “lost it all in crypto,” especially NFTs. But for those who’ve bought and held Bitcoin for any length of time, their patience is duly rewarded. BTC has yielded an astounding 671% average year-over-year return since 2013, making it the best-performing asset of our time.
Just look at El Salvador’s success. President Nayib Bukele’s 2021 bet on Bitcoin drew its fair share of criticism, but the small Central American nation’s Bitcoin holdings have now soared to over $500 million, yielding a 100%+ ROI. Not only that, but his approval ratings hover around 90% and the homicide rate is now lower than the US. Another small nation to go big on Bitcoin is the Kingdom of Bhutan, whose Bitcoin holdings are now equivalent to over $1 billion. Does that sound risky to you?
Crypto Isn’t Real
Of course, no Thanksgiving dinner is complete without the old chestnut that crypto isn’t real. Some folks just can’t get around not being able to put Bitcoin in their pocket, reasoning that it’s not backed by anything, unlike the dollar which has the “full faith and credit” of the US government behind it. Cold hard facts are your friend for this ONE. Point to the powerful network of miners behind Bitcoin, the $3 trillion crypto market cap, the ETF providers, the institutions, politicians, and nation states.
Talk about Bitcoin’s 21 million hard cap supply and hammer that home—unlike the dollar which has lost 92% of its purchasing power since 1933—there will never be more mined and can never dilute the value of your holdings. Bitcoin’s limited supply makes it more akin to gold as a hard asset and optimal store of value, compared to the out-of-control money printing machine behind the greenback that’s eroding the value of your savings.
Wondering why the cost of everything from ham and eggs to house prices and the turkey on the table has gone up? Inflation is a constant tax on the people and Bitcoin provides a compelling solution. Or, to put it in terms Uncle Dave will agree with, Bitcoin offers a hedge against many of the risks inherent in the traditional fiat financial system.
If, after all that, your family remains unmoved, take heart. It’s better to have tried and failed than never to have tried at all. And Grandma asking about crypto again is the clearest leading indicator you’ll get.
