The holiday season is a time for cheer, connection, and…avoiding certain topics? If you’re into Bitcoin, you might find your family and friends steering clear of the subject. This article explores why your loved ones might not be so eager to discuss Bitcoin during the holidays, offering insights into their perspectives and how to navigate these conversations.
With the rising popularity and fluctuating values of cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin has become a hot topic, yet not always a welcome one at the dinner table. Understanding the reasons behind this reluctance can help you approach the holidays with more empathy and realistic expectations.
From normal people who find Bitcoin uninteresting, to 2021-ers who prefer to forget their crypto losses, tech pros who think it’s boring and risky and skeptics who just don’t care, here’s the breakdown of why Bitcoin might be the elephant in the room this holiday season.
Bitcoin’s Lack of Appeal to the Average Person
For most people, Bitcoin remains an amusing novelty at best. Over 90% of people have never owned Bitcoin. They might know someone who’s into it and assume that person has made money. They don’t follow the price or technology.
Questions you might hear from them:
- “What does Bitcoin do again? How do I use it?”
- “Oh, yea, Bitcoin, isn’t that like Venmo? What’s it backed by?”
I haven’t found a way to talk to these people without sounding like a raving lunatic, for that reason, I don’t.
It’s not like any of them care about it anyway; it’s hard enough to get the kids to swim practice on time. I don’t need to spend another 20 minutes making myself look like a delusional conspiracy theorist to one of the pool moms.
The 2021 Crypto Crash and Lingering Disinterest
Many people who bought Bitcoin in 2021, drawn in by the hype, are now waiting for the right price to sell. Their experience with Bitcoin was often negative, leading them to avoid the topic altogether. Unless Bitcoin goes parabolic again, they’d rather forget about it.
At that point, you will have to brace yourself for a text every two hours about “price is up!” and asking you what you think about X shitcoin or giving you recommendations about what pump-and-dump to buy into, just like they did to me at the end of 2021.
Tech Professionals’ Skepticism Towards Bitcoin
IT professionals often understand the underlying technology but remain skeptical about Bitcoin’s practicality and scalability. They find the technology unoriginal and doubt its ability to scale beyond niche applications.
As one friend said about Bitcoin, “all the technology existed for a while, they just combined it into a money system.”
Since they do not understand finance and economics, they do not understand why Bitcoin is so revolutionary.
Some of them think Bitcoin’s shady because criminals use it. Others think it’s a complicated way to do something quite easy (send money). A few think it’s a fad or useless technology.
You may hear them say this:
- “Only criminals use it, everybody else is just trying to make money.”
- “It’s too volatile.”
- “I already have a banking app, why do I need Bitcoin?”
No point talking to these people. They’ll come around when they’re ready, and not because of anything you say. They only believe what they already believe — and you can’t change that.
They may try to engage you anyway.
I have found it best to ask them what they know about it, then nod, agree, and say “good point, I guess we’ll see how it goes. How’s Norma? The kids? Did I hear your mom moved to Arizona?”
Skeptics’ Concerns About Bitcoin’s Viability
Skeptics, often with a background in business and finance, raise legitimate concerns about Bitcoin’s speed, volatility, and risk as a store of value. They need practical applications to change their minds.
That hasn’t happened yet.
You might hype up stablecoins or El Salvador. They’ll tell you we already have dollars and nobody cares about a tiny Central American country.
You might talk about the use of Bitcoin to boost financial portfolios or mention some nice thing a famous person said about it.
It won’t change their minds.
At best, you might say something to get them to reflect on their positions if you talk to them nicely.
The Perspective of Older Generations on Bitcoin
Many older people, surprisingly, understand Bitcoin’s value but don’t necessarily use or invest in it. They are used to traditional financial systems and might not see the immediate need for cryptocurrency.
You might wonder, if they understand the value of Bitcoin, why don’t they buy it or use it?
Most still use checkbooks and some use cash exclusively. Some shop online, but mostly not. A few still print out their emails. They’ve used the same currency their whole life and many believe it’s backed by gold or some other guarantee.
You can expect they’ll miss the most mind-blowing feature of cryptocurrency, as well as every other interesting aspect of the technology.
Overwhelmingly, of those who know about it, they feel like this technology will eat the world. They just don’t think it’s going to happen before they die.
As such, it’s amusing to them. They feel like there’s something there, they just don’t know what. And because they’ve gotten along so well for so long with what they already know, they don’t really think about it.
Imagine how you’d feel if the situation was reversed? For example, if your boss made you compose a memo on an electronic typewriter and send it via telex.
Or, if a client asked you to work up a sales report using a handheld calculator and folio so you could sketch a chart on transparent film to present it using an overhead projector.
Do you even know what that means? How quickly could you learn to do that? How convenient would you think it is?
All those things were modern technology when they grew up — as mystifying for us today as our modern technology seems to them.
Embrace Connection Over Conversion
While sharing your knowledge about Bitcoin is tempting, it’s essential to prioritize connection and understanding during the holidays. Recognize that many factors influence people’s reluctance to discuss Bitcoin, and respect their perspectives.
Many, many people think education is the key to engagement. I see this written on twitter, blogs, Reddit, and all sorts of forums.
It may surprise you how much our biggest, loudest voices and boldest, clearest messages fall flat.
Fortunately, we have many, many people working to make Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies useful. If they succeed, the skeptics will come around.
Until then, no sense trying to engage people in conversation.
Sometimes, it’s okay to let the technology speak for itself.
Enjoy your holidays catching up with friends, family, and loved ones. Bitcoin will always be here but your friends and family might not.
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