Bitcoin as a Gift

[virtualfaqs]

I was thinking of giving away a CASASCIUS Bitcoin as a gift for a Chinese wedding - slip in a red envelope.
The bride probably will have no clue what it is. The groom might have heard of bitcoins, but doubt he has a wallet.

Should I include instructions on what to do with it or just let them figure it out?   

[casascius]

Just put a note in there that today this coin is worth $5.44 and that you expect it to be worth a lot more some day.  Write they will eventually have a piece of metal worth lots of money, or they will have a shiny reminder that you're an overly optimistic fool.  Either way, you can virtually guarantee that it won't remain at $5.44 forever.  Tell them to keep it in a safe place and remember the word "BITCOIN" just in case they hear it hit big in the news.

People will safekeep the coin 10 times out of 10 having been told that.  Why wouldn't they - it has all the appeal of a likely winning lottery ticket and all the fun with none of the cost.  And it looks neat.

[virtualfaqs]

Just put a note in there that today this coin is worth $5.44 and that you expect it to be worth a lot more some day.  Write they will eventually have a piece of metal worth lots of money, or they will have a shiny reminder that you're an overly optimistic fool.  Either way, you can virtually guarantee that it won't remain at $5.44 forever.  Tell them to keep it in a safe place and remember the word "BITCOIN" just in case they hear it hit big in the news.

People will safekeep the coin 10 times out of 10 having been told that.  Why wouldn't they - it has all the appeal of a likely winning lottery ticket and all the fun with none of the cost.  And it looks neat.

Haha from Casacius himself. Actually I should clarify that it's not 1 Bitcoin. I'm not *that* cheap.. especially for a wedding. It will be your 25 BTC one. Since that one was for myself, that means I'll have to buy another one from you eventually! Look what you've done!

[vuce]

Just put a note in there that today this coin is worth $5.44 and that you expect it to be worth a lot more some day.  Write they will eventually have a piece of metal worth lots of money, or they will have a shiny reminder that you're an overly optimistic fool.  Either way, you can virtually guarantee that it won't remain at $5.44 forever.  Tell them to keep it in a safe place and remember the word "BITCOIN" just in case they hear it hit big in the news.

People will safekeep the coin 10 times out of 10 having been told that.  Why wouldn't they - it has all the appeal of a likely winning lottery ticket and all the fun with none of the cost.  And it looks neat.

Haha from Casacius himself. Actually I should clarify that it's not 1 Bitcoin. I'm not *that* cheap.. especially for a wedding. It will be your 25 BTC one. Since that one was for myself, that means I'll have to buy another one from you eventually! Look what you've done!

Don't be so cheap, go for the gold one!

Seriously, the 10 btc silver one looks so fantastic I don't know why anyone would not want to have it.

[ErebusBat]

Seriously, the 10 btc silver one looks so fantastic I don't know why anyone would not want to have it.

Everyone *wants* to have bitcoins..... now paying for them is another issue......

[vuce]

Seriously, the 10 btc silver one looks so fantastic I don't know why anyone would not want to have it.

Everyone *wants* to have bitcoins..... now paying for them is another issue......

Maybe I didn't quite express it as I meant to, what I meant was why anyone would not be happy receiving it as a gift, in this instance. I guess this was the OP's question, if it was appropriate as a gift.

[casascius]

Haha from Casacius himself. Actually I should clarify that it's not 1 Bitcoin. I'm not *that* cheap.. especially for a wedding. It will be your 25 BTC one. Since that one was for myself, that means I'll have to buy another one from you eventually! Look what you've done!

Same deal of course, multiplying the amount by 25.  I think the coin is a great gift but I'm about as biased as you can get.

My sister got married four months ago.  I gave her a 100 BTC bar.  They actually wanted bitcoins, and they already own some.  So it definitely wasn't a gift in vain.

At our office, we gave away 25 BTC coins at our company Christmas party, one to every employee.  That was on December 19th or so, and BTC's were $3 at the time.  That way, when they'd hear me talking about Bitcoins all the time, they wouldn't see me as ridiculous - after all, they're on the rocket too, and from their perspective, the rocket's only going up.  Exciting to know their $75 gift is now worth well over $100.  I don't think anyone has forgotten or misplaced them - if anything else, for days after I had passed them out (and again each time the price has spiked), a few at my office who are bitcoin-aware can occasionally be heard trying to lowball the others into giving up theirs, "I'll give you cash for that right now!" etc.

[BitPay Business Solutions]

Seriously, the 10 btc silver one looks so fantastic I don't know why anyone would not want to have it.

YES, it is the prettiest coin he's got.

[virtualfaqs]

Seriously, the 10 btc silver one looks so fantastic I don't know why anyone would not want to have it.

Everyone *wants* to have bitcoins..... now paying for them is another issue......

Maybe I didn't quite express it as I meant to, what I meant was why anyone would not be happy receiving it as a gift, in this instance. I guess this was the OP's question, if it was appropriate as a gift.

Well my question is in the line of is it better to let the receiver discover everything themselves about bitcoins or give them a gentle push in the right direction? Because if I got this without instructions, I'd be what the hell is this... some kind of strange currency. And put it aside until I had time to figure it out. Depending on the person, they might not care until you tell them it's worth $125. haha

Seriously, the 10 btc silver one looks so fantastic I don't know why anyone would not want to have it.

YES, it is the prettiest coin he's got.

How pretty? Pix?

[kjlimo]

I gave away 3 single BTC coins for a gift exchange ($10 gift exchange) back when they were worth about $3 a piece.

I used a parse down version of the first Q&A from www.weusecoins.com

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What is a good way to concisely explain Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is a new kind of money. It's the first decentralized electronic currency not controlled by a single organization or government. It's an open source project, and it is used by more than 100,000 people. All over the world people are trading hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of bitcoin every day with no middle man and no credit card companies. It's a startup currency which has never happened before.

Bitcoin is the first digital currency that is completely distributed. The network is made up of users like yourself so no bank or payment processor is required between you and whoever you're trading with. This decentralization is the basis for Bitcoin's security and freedom.

Email let us send letters for free, anywhere in the world. Skype lets us make phone and video calls for free, anywhere in the world. Now there's bitcoin. Bitcoin lets you send money to anyone online, anywhere in the world for less than a cent per transaction! Bitcoin is a community run system not controlled by any bank or government. There's no wallstreet banker getting rich by standing between you and the people you want to send and receive money from.

Bitcoin is more efficient than all competing currencies. This will drive its adoption in the same way computers were adopted, in that computers made people more efficient in competing in the marketplace. Of course the early adopters will become rich, and I think they deserve it for having played a key role in the development of Bitcoin. A currency has value by it being widely used. Bitcoin is a startup currency with a deflationary bootstrapping economy. Its use spreads by providing the speculator incentive.

Bitcoin is going to be the biggest opportunity for innovation that the world has seen since the industrial revolution. An idea whose time has come.

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I can't find my parsed down version I used, but thought this could be helpful.

~ciao

Maybe you should include an issue of Bitcoin Magazine as well!  That would give them a great way to get educated on the subject.

[HBBZ]

I'm impressed that many good ideas have flashed in the great minds alike.

Well, i registered BitcoinRedEnvelope.com and decided to give it a shot. Regarding the urgent necessity of SHOWING what bitcoin is, I wrote a little book which is ready for free download at CoinDL.com

https://www.coindl.com/page/item/684

Feedbacks appreciated.