We could position Bitcoin as a currency for Kids

[asperous]

Hear me out, it's just an idea... (continuation from this)

Inspiration: https://usbank.visabuxx.com/

Kids i.e. ~13-18 year olds. Old enough to want to spend money online, too young for their own credit card.

Some parents want to give their kids a way to spend a small amount of money online without giving them a credit card or debit card. Bitcoin is:

• completely anonymous (read: safe)
• has strict spending limits (can't spend more then you have)
• has no monthly fees
• is accepted at (some) online merchandisers (parents might like the idea that it's limited).

Kids can spend money securely through a program on their computer (maybe a dumbed down version of electrum).

Kids can buy the latest humble bundle for example without having to ask their parents.

It makes since that you have to convert money into kid money. It doesn't make since (for the average person) to buy bitcoins to shop at newegg. You could have just used your credit card and skipped a step and saved time.

I know this might propigate a bad image for Bitcoin (i.e. it's kid money) but I don't think that would kill it.

-> Remember kids grow up. <-

[franky1]

Kids can spend money securely through a program on their computer (maybe a dumbed down version of electrum).

seeing as it is small amount like $5 a phone app wallet would achieve this.
i do not recommend third party services for life savings or large investments, but for a kids weekly pocketmoney a web wallet is the perfect scenario.

Maybe I am wrong but I do not think too many parents not deeply immersed in crypto have a high opinion of it, that being if they've heard of it in the first place.

banks and governments had the same mindset in 2012.. now look at them, they all want a piece of the bitcoin pie

[pawel7777]

Sure,

That list being what exactly?

-Porn
-Guns
-Silkroad (whatever current version)
-Drugs
-BTC Mining Equipment
-Their favorite terrorist organization

Maybe I am wrong but I do not think too many parents not deeply immersed in crypto have a high opinion of it, that being if they've heard of it in the first place.


~BCX~

Can't believe you missed the gambling...

On the subject, I think there already is a pretty big number of 16-18 yo using bitcoins. There was a poll somewhere on this forum, but cannot find it.

[virtualx]

Sure,

That list being what exactly?

-Porn
-Guns
-Silkroad (whatever current version)
-Drugs
-BTC Mining Equipment
-Their favorite terrorist organization

Maybe I am wrong but I do not think too many parents not deeply immersed in crypto have a high opinion of it, that being if they've heard of it in the first place.


~BCX~

Can't believe you missed the gambling...

On the subject, I think there already is a pretty big number of 16-18 yo using bitcoins. There was a poll somewhere on this forum, but cannot find it.

You forgot music and celebrities, teenagers are very into that.  Video games also come to mind.

[e1ghtSpace]

I'm 14 and I planned to use bitcoins to buy some steam games. I mined some altcoins at launch to get the money but I wanted to invest in altcoins. So I did, and managed to get up to 0.4 btc. But (because I was stupid) I went into pump and dumps and my 0.4 btc turned into 0.2 btc and then another pump and dump turned it into 0.07. At that point I gave up trading for a while.
Now it seems that I've lost my touch with trading. I'm too scared to invest now but when I do, the price always drops. A good example of my bad luck would be motocoin. I sold all of my coins. The next day I decided to invest again and I sent btc to the exchange. I forgot about it and a few hours later I went on the exchange and the price was x5. I was so angry with myself for forgetting. You can probably see a post I made on the motocoin thread when that happened.

Anyway, back on topic;

A dumbed down version of electrum? Maybe if it was for 10 -12 year olds.

I used the (20gb waste of space) BitcoinCore but now I use the blockchain.info app because I can scan QR codes for payment. I think most people my age can handle normal wallets but then again, people say I am mature for my age.

[yatsey87]

I'm not sure we should be specifically targeting children to be honest. Bitcoin has both pluses and negatives for kids, but kids in the uk can still get a debit card pretty young which you can't spend more than you have in there.

[bornil267645]

Not a good idea at all...this anonymous nature will make our job lot harder to track their activities.

[Bitcoins101]

Not a good idea at all...this anonymous nature will make our job lot harder to track their activities.

Why should teenagers not have the same freedom and privacy everyone else has?

[asperous]

Maybe I am wrong but I do not think too many parents not deeply immersed in crypto have a high opinion of it, that being if they've heard of it in the first place.


~BCX~

The idea would be to create and promote marketing material based around this idea as an application for Bitcoin. Knowing about it before hand wouldn't be a requirement, and hopefully with some marketing the Bitcoin community could help change the perception.

[Unkle]

Would have to be pretty smart kids. I don't think we should force it on them and debit cards would be safer until they understand the technology.

[asperous]

Would have to be pretty smart kids. I don't think we should force it on them and debit cards would be safer until they understand the technology.

That's true that some kids might think it's pretty lame (like a debit card but worse). They would have to want it before it rather than it being forced on them.

Do you think that users of Bitcoin should have to understand the technology to use it?

[Darude Sandstorm]

Do you think that users of Bitcoin should have to understand the technology to use it?

Only at a basic level. Like you don't need to know how a mobile pohone works to use one, but there's certain things you need to understand or be aware of before you can use it.

[galbros]

I actually read yesterday someone trying to explain that one of the factors in the recent doge run up was its popularity with kids.  Hey, why not.  More users equals higher value for bitcoin.

[Ektra]

As a teen I had an online savings account long before I had any cards for spending online. Using something like localbitcoins I could have bought BTC via transfer no problem or perhaps cash and there you go. I can say that bitcoin would have been very attractive to me at the time, for sure.

[oceans]

I can see how this would work to be honest however I do feel that with everything that is available for the use of bitcoin such as gambling, porn, drugs and such it would have to be locked down in a way that youngsters could not get access these places easily. Parents would first need to to fully aware of what bitcoin is as well to avoid any problems.

[Lethn]

Do that and we'll have headlines "Children gamble away their life savings in Bitcoin" all over the fucking place, no, I'm all for kids using it, but they have to use it because they want to, not because they were tricked into it by adults, the good news is regardless of what anyone has to say, chances are children are going to adopt things like Bitcoin really quickly, especially if they can do it anonymously they've done it with all sorts of technology without their parents knowledge before.

How do I know this? Because I learned all kinds of shit without my parents even knowing about it when I was young and I bet you lot did to.

[asperous]

Do that and we'll have headlines "Children gamble away their life savings in Bitcoin"

The point would be to not give children their entire life savings as Bitcoin. Just a small amount to learn how to use money. Also I'm not a parent but it seems to me that if my hypothetical child gambled away 5$ at Satoshi dice and came to me about it I would use this as a learning opportunity. Yet this is just my opinion, it's also possible this experience could cause a lot of problems with the youth later on. That's Australia's political stance anyway: nogame.sa.gov.au

And yeah, I read the other commentators and I agree that it would be better for kids to want Bitcoins then for parents to just give it to them. Although marketing things to kids always feels wrong to me, maybe as other people said their interest in it might come about naturally.

[francisp]

I don't think we have to market it as a currency for kids, but I do think the ability of kids to use it online is an advantage of bitcoin.

My 11yo son has a little bitcoin (I paid him for a chore in it, and then he bought a little from me). I have taught him the basics of securing it (just like I did with cash). I would love it if he could buy things online with it, but right now there is little for sale online for bitcoin that he is interested in.

Regarding the child-unfriendly nature of some things online available for bitcoin, that is part of my job as a parent. I don't let him buy that stuff with cash, or with bitcoin. It would be silly to make out bitcoin as the problem.

[giveBTCpls]

Hear me out, it's just an idea... (continuation from this)

Inspiration: https://usbank.visabuxx.com/

Kids i.e. ~13-18 year olds. Old enough to want to spend money online, too young for their own credit card.

Some parents want to give their kids a way to spend a small amount of money online without giving them a credit card or debit card. Bitcoin is:

• completely anonymous (read: safe)
• has strict spending limits (can't spend more then you have)
• has no monthly fees

• is accepted at (some) online merchandisers (parents might like the idea that it's limited).[/b]
  

Kids can spend money securely through a program on their computer (maybe a dumbed down version of electrum).

Kids can buy the latest humble bundle for example without having to ask their parents.

It makes since that you have to convert money into kid money. It doesn't make since (for the average person) to buy bitcoins to shop at newegg. You could have just used your credit card and skipped a step and saved time.

I know this might propigate a bad image for Bitcoin (i.e. it's kid money) but I don't think that would kill it.

-> Remember kids grow up. <-

Sure,

That list being what exactly?

-Porn
-Guns
-Silkroad (whatever current version)
-Drugs
-BTC Mining Equipment
-Their favorite terrorist organization

Maybe I am wrong but I do not think too many parents not deeply immersed in crypto have a high opinion of it, that being if they've heard of it in the first place.


~BCX~

Every kid and their brother is watching HD 1080p porn on their smartphones for free these days, the rest can be bought with CASH already. Lol@you.

[grumpyoldtroll]

Parents are overly protective when it comes to their kids. Every new things needs to be scrutinized inside out. Not possible.