Christmas 2020: how to give bitcoin as a present

A gift that could be particularly appreciated at Christmas 2020 are the bitcoins. But how do 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, all you need to do is get the recipient’s public address and send them BTCs. 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 BTCs don’t physically fit inside a wallet, but only on the blockchain. The wallet, on the other hand, physically holds only the private keys of the addresses on which 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.

Giving away a wallet with Bitcoin at Christmas 2020

Therefore you can create a new wallet, mark on a sheet of paper the seed or private key of your public address and send to that address the bitcoins to be donated.

At that point, to donate the bitcoins, simply hand the sheet containing the previously marked seed or private key to the recipient.

Who will receive this gift will only have to restore the wallet using the seed or private key received, and freely use the bitcoins 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 him know which software he can use for restoring, as not all seeds are compatible with all wallets.

For example, using Electrum everything is quite simple.

This mode also allows you to pack the sheet with the seed, perhaps even using a special paper. The important thing is to put the 12, or 24, words in the exact sequence, otherwise recovery will not be possible.

It also allows you to explain to the receiver how Bitcoin works and how to get BTCs thanks to the seed.

However, it must be said that online you can find several tutorial videos showing how to do it, and it remains very simple and fast.

However, it is advisable for the recipient to move the BTCs on a wallet of his own, once restored the one used for the gift, because the seed of this can remain in the possession of the giver, giving him in theory also the possibility to „recover“ the bitcoins donated even without the consent of the recipient.

If, on the other hand, he immediately moves them on a wallet to which he has exclusive access, this problem is easily solved.