A gift that could be particularly appreciated for Christmas 2020 is bitcoin. But how can you give BTC as a gift?
In theory, it’s very simple, but the most banal method is not at all poetic, and totally ruins the surprise effect.
In fact, it is enough to get the recipient’s public address and send him/her BTC. However, not only does this completely inhibit the surprise effect, but it could also result in a gift that is not particularly appreciated, especially if it is a limited amount, such as 0.006 BTC.
There is another way to solve both problems.
Many people don’t know that BTC are not physically on a wallet, but rather always and only on the blockchain. Instead, the wallet physically holds only the private keys of the addresses where they are stored, and these keys can easily be given to others.
Moreover, they are only text strings, i.e. sequences of numbers and letters that can be used with any compatible wallet.
Gift a wallet with Bitcoin for Christmas 2020
It is therefore possible to create a new wallet, note on a sheet of paper the seed or private key of its public address and send the bitcoin gift to that address.
At that point, to give bitcoin as a present, simply hand over the sheet containing the previously written down seed or private key to the recipient.
Whoever receives this gift will only have to restore the wallet using the seed or private key received, and freely use the bitcoin stored on that address.
Usually, the seed is easier to use to restore the wallet, instead of the private key, so it is advisable to give this to the recipient. The important thing is also to let them know which software they can use for restoring, as not all seeds are compatible with all wallets.
For example, with Electrum everything is quite simple.
This method also allows wrapping the sheet containing the seed, perhaps even using a special wrapping paper. The important thing is to put the 12, or 24, words in the exact sequence, otherwise, recovery will not be possible.
Moreover, it also allows explaining to the receiver how Bitcoin works and how to get BTC thanks to the seed. It must be said, however, that online there are several video tutorials that show how to do it, and it remains very simple and fast.
It is advisable for the recipient to move the BTC on a wallet to which he/she has exclusively the private keys, after having restored the one used for the gift, because the seed of this can remain in the possession of the person making the gift, giving him/her the possibility to “recover” the bitcoin gifted even without the consent of the recipient. If, on the other hand, the recipient immediately moves them on a wallet to which they have exclusive access, this problem is easily solved.
