Imagine this scenario: it’s Christmas day, and you’re sitting around the dinner table with your family. You haven’t seen your family since this time last year, and you’re all done with exchanging pleasantries.
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All of a sudden, uncle nudges you in the ribcage. He asks what you’ve been up to recently. You mumble something about crypto, hoping that he won’t ask any more questions - but of course, he does ask more questions.
The room is silent, and everyone is turning to face you. You feel your cheeks redden as you take a deep breath and get ready to start explaining things to your family and fielding their questions.
Explaining Crypto To Your Family Over Christmas Dinner
But how on earth do you explain crypto to your family over Christmas dinner? Well, the answer is to break it down into simplified, digestible chunks. If you’re looking for inspiration, we’ve made a start to help you out.
When explaining crypto to anyone, the obvious place to start is with Bitcoin. Bitcoin is like the Godfather of all blockchains -- you simply can’t talk about blockchain technology without mentioning Bitcoin. So far, Bitcoin has proven to be very simple and safe, which is why it has remained the reigning champion over the past thirteen years.
Many people use ‘blockchain’ and ‘Bitcoin’ interchangeably, which isn’t quite right. Bitcoin is a currency, while a blockchain is a distributed database, which is basically just data that is stored in lots of different physical locations. Bitcoin is powered by blockchain technology, but blockchain technology has many uses beyond this, including uses in government, waste management, identification, and border control.
As a result of the success of Bitcoin, a number of competitors started popping up. Ethereum was the first competitor, and its smart contract technology opened up a number of the crazy possibilities which we’ve been starting to see over the past couple of years.
You might also have heard of things like Dogecoin, which was adopted by billionaire Elon Musk as a Bitcoin rival earlier this year. This is why some crypto enthusiasts refer to Musk as the ‘Dogefather’.
Dogecoin is often referred to as a ‘meme coin’, which is essentially a cryptocurrency that is based on a meme or a joke, as opposed to being a serious product. Memecoins are an example of just how crazy the blockchain world has become.
Smaller New-Age Blockchain Projects
Outside of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and memecoins, there are also plenty of smaller new-age blockchain projects that enthusiasts are keeping an eye on as the ecosystem matures.
For instance, over the past year, the decentralized finance (often referred to as ‘DeFi’) industry has blown up. This is essentially a form of finance based on the blockchain that does not rely on intermediaries such as banks or exchanges. Instead, it utilizes smart contracts. The most popular one is Ethereum, which we talked about earlier.
Reef chain, which integrates aspects from most commonly used blockchains while maintaining smart contract compatibility, is an example of one of these exciting new projects. People can use Reef to build their own DeFi app, or to port their own existing project to Reef chain - and this is just the beginning!
So, there you have it - a super quick rundown of crypto that will keep your family entertained and engaged over Christmas dinner. If there’s still another course to go by the time you’ve finished this explanation, you could even show them how to open their own crypto wallet and invest.
After all, sitting around the Christmas tree and watching the value of everyone’s crypto wallet fluctuating is certainly one way to keep people entertained!
