If you're like me and have relatives who have heard about bitcoin and are intrigued, but are also skeptical and detached from the concept of decentralized virtual currency, this might be both a nifty gift and a pleasant way to introduce people to bitcoin and start conversations. Here's what I propose:
1) Generate two addresses. Load them with roughly equal amounts of bitcoin to gift a person, the exact amount is up to you.
1a) Optionally, generate vanity addresses for one or both addresses. This could help give a more personalized touch to the gift. You can use vanitygen at
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=25804.0 or other tools to create the addresses. Anything up to 5 characters is fairly easy to find, 6 characters is manageable but 7+ takes quite some time in my experience.
2) Take one of the addresses and use it to create a paper wallet, preferably one that is attractive. Something tangible and that looks valuable may be more appealing to newcomers than a USB stick or a 12 random word seed or whatever. My choice will likely be the tri-fold wallet at
https://bitcoinpaperwallet.com/, which is a physical representation of the notion that one's public address is to be shared for receiving payment while the private key must be protected as it allows the corresponding bitcoins to be spent.
3) With the other address, create a blockchain.info wallet and import the private key so that the bitcoins are pre-loaded and ready to spend. For the wallet password, try to use something that's strong but relatively easy to remember. I'm thinking of using a pronounceable password to help with this, which can be generated some places online or with the LastPass browser plugin. Definitely advise people that if they change their password they should use something unique, random, and strong.
4) Put the paper wallet into an envelope. Print out some basic instructions on how to use blockchain.info and how to send/receive bitcoins, as well as how to import their paper wallet into their blockchain.info wallet, and put that into the envelope as well. If people are interested, I can share the instructions I write up in this thread so others can use it. Include a link to their blockchain wallet along with their password and identifier. Lastly, include a list of merchants and websites where they can buy things they might want. This should ideally be personalized for each person, but I think one go-to website would be Gyft, which lets you buy gift cards to a variety of places with bitcoin and receive a 3% discount for doing so.
5) Finally, I plan to keep an encrypted backup of all the private keys I use for gifts that I will only touch if people lose their wallets, just in case. It would certainly be a negative bitcoin experience for people to lose their paper wallet or password. This step might not be necessary with more tech-savvy people, and it shouldn't be a replacement for encouraging good security and backup habits.
6) Put a ribbon on the envelope, write their names on it, and you're good to go. If done right, you can give people personalized and attractive bitcoin gifts for Christmas that makes it easy for them to both buy something they like right now as well as hold on to a little bit for the future.
Thoughts?
