Thread

Replies (58)

I'd tell them - Buy daily from an exchange, and I'd recommend some exchanges. - When it feels like too much to lose, get a hard ware wallet, and I'd recommend some. - Don't sell if you can avoid it, but please spend the bitcoins if you can - and buy them back directly. HODL & SPEDN if you like wrods. Then I'd point them to these resources: -
dergigi.com
dergigi.com
Thoughts about Bitcoin and other things.
 for philosophy, explanations and thoughts about Bitcoin in text format ( @Gigi ) - https://www.youtube.com/@IoniAppelberg for philosophy, explanations and thoughts about Bitcoin in video format (only birdapp) -
GitHub
GitHub - kallerosenbaum/grokkingbitcoin: Source repository for Grokking Bitcoin
Source repository for Grokking Bitcoin. Contribute to kallerosenbaum/grokkingbitcoin development by creating an account on GitHub.
 for a fantastic explanation of how bitcoin works (not sure where to find him, I think he's on birdapp) Then invite them to a local community where they can ask all the questions. There's no good complete guide out there, and no good guide which fits all people. Too much too fast. I think asking questions when they arise is the way to go.
Andreas aantonopoulous has some great older videos. I think this would be a great starting point. Also his book the internet of money is great. Personally, I would say use well known exchange operating in your country. Get well known brand hardware wallet. Dont invent your own stuff and use hardware wallet as adviced by manufacturer. Obviously depends on how much money you want to secure.
The ressources given would depend on the amount this person is looking to buy medium-term, and their technical level. Along with the ressources, a good wallet is primordial. -Play money/discovering Bitcoin : Wallet of Satoshi -Some money/Diving into the rabbit hole about bitcoin : Green Wallet from Blockstream (nontechnical), or a Coldcard if they want to play with a hardware wallet. -Serious money/Life Savings : If they're technical, a multisig setup with coldcards/tapsigners/etc. is great. If nontechnical, nunchuk is also great, or casa as a last resort.
The Bitcoin Standard. If they are able to read and understand that book then they will be able to help themselves to answer these questions. After all, bitcoin is for anyone, not everyone. If they are buying and self-custodying Bitcoin without understanding Bitcoin then they're just gambling for a pump and will get rekt. To study bitcoin is the only sound advice that can be given.
Well I will be very much oblige to explain one or two things to that person about #bitcoin. First I will start by telling him or her where to buy #bitcoin on some exchanges with small withdrawal fees. I will also tell the person not to keep the bought #bitcoin on that exchange. Lastly, I will explain the difference between the types of wallets we used in storing Bitcoin and the reason why he or she should go for self-custody ones.
In Japan, almost no on-ramp payment via apps available, all you can do is buy one at the Exchanges certified by the government, and transfer it into your self-custody wallet. So the answers are: - Guides: Follow the instructions of Exchanges certified by the government - Where to buy: same as above - How to store: - If hot one: Blockstream Green, Sparrow, Electrum - if cold one: Jade or COLDCARD
I'd say there's no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. Number one goal here would be get them to take the first steps without overwhelming them. None of us leveled up to where we are now in a single leap. My default onboarding wallet right now is Phoenix. Works with on chain and lightning, regular 12 word backup. Getting sats obviously varies on jurisdiction. Non KYC is ideal but can be daunting as a first experience. In Canada I point to Bull Bitcoin, internationally I point to Hodlhodl (but will concede to an easy KYC exchange if this is too much of a challenge out the gate. Cold storage can depend again on the user. Timid: tapsigner on Nunchuk mobile Willing to learn: Coldcard/Sparrow plugged in (much easier than many would assume if you don't get distracted by the bells and whistles) Eager: CC/Sparrow air gapped Many non technical people I've worked with over time have leveled up over time to: -Phoenix hot wallet -No KYC sats -Coinjoin -Coldcard air gapped -Running a node Not everyone needs to get here, but a lot get curious and excited once they fall down the rabbit hole. Holy crap this is a long reply. Sorry.
I judge their personality and then do it the whole way with the ones making the right noises. Start to end. Its not about quantity its quality. I mentor about 5 people at their own pace an in different styles in context of their background and personality. There's no weblink for a common, fundamental character flaw. For the unwashed masses - there's coinbase and their chase account. No time for the mass man. Orange pill the right one, and they'll do it for 5 more. No rekt losers a year later. No arguments. And when they 'get it' they self-update and bring you back signal. Far more satisfying. Honest answer.
I tell them to buy with @Azteco Id guide them with either @ZEUS for lightening azteco voucher purchases or samourai for on chain vouchers. Id send them this link on a way to buy online easily: https://twitter.com/exitcalmly/status/1624359295566454784? and I wouldn't treat them like dirt and expect them to submit ID and bank statements clearly explaining that that is rent seeking abusive behavior. Later should they wish I would send them to guides by @BTC Sessions and @npub1txwy...yt4x for further growing into node use etc.
For the past year, riding on the "you get into Bitcoin at the price you deserve" wave, I have been telling all my family and friends I will help them get into Bitcoin. The entire process, start to finish, buying the hardware wallet, but with one catch: It will cost them, by a factor of how little they supported me, some more than others. The less support the more it costs. I am thinking from $200 - $500. (Most people -- I know -- will be $400, strangers will be less.) I will make this a side hustle for sure to help strangers. There is a market, some people don't want to be experts on their Refrigerators, toilets, HVAC, plumbing, AV, computers, phones etc. Geek Squad has made billions. The Bitcoin Brigade will collect billions of sats and there is a worldwide peaceful army of us. Bitcoin for the people. I have spent almost 2000 hours to learn everything 'Ledger to Date.' You don't expect a surgeon to do an appendectomy pro bono.
I would say start with Strike. Simple UI, similar to Venmo, it'll get them to the next step of " alright, what's next? how do I cold storage?" guides- btc sessions obviously buy on strike or robosats(RS would be later on) store on strike, but eventually multisig cold card or node running stuffy
Guides - Probably the Basics series that @npub1h8nk...rpev has. It's such a complex topic I think it's too tough of an ask for someone to sit down and read a massive article that covers everything, it's easier to hand them half a dozen podcast episodes that they can pick up and put down whenever it's convenient. Where to buy - I believe there's an episode of that same Basics series that dropped about a week ago that covers this. @River, @npub1tftc...xar5, & @npub1ex7m...vyt9 were specifically recommended while CashApp, and even Venmo and Paypal were included as options. How to store it - Three stages: 1. Start with a non-custodial Lightning wallet that can also handle on chain transactions. Phoenix wallet would be my go-to at the moment. 2. Once they've gotten enough value on that wallet, point them to a Coldcard and some kind of metal seed backup. Help them as much as you can without compromising their seed phrase or Coldcard PIN. 3. Optional step - If they've acquired a larger stack, consider recommending that they move to a multisig setup from Unchained or a similar company. Lean on their onboarding team who's set up lots of low-technical knowledge people. Note: If the person you're onboarding is a whale who's going to allocate significant capital up front, it's probably worth jumping straight to step 3.
For the non-technical? Unfortunately, still don't think we are there yet, so would either help them directly or refer them to another person who could. Possibly answering questions about tutorials they have attempted or read and struggled with, or more general questions about Bitcoins hard money policy or tech (such a user should understand in full before buying or interacting with). Leaving them to wrestle with guides and tutorials related to keys, wallets, etc would just put them off (and could be dangerous) - at least based on the resources I have seen. Its definitely getting better but the "average" non-technical adopters I think would still struggle with resources alone. If you insisted on a more direct answer, I would be tempted to say Reddit or other "friendly" communities that might offer guidance and answer questions, however I would think twice about this and avoid such an answer as the issue of trust comes into play (and would for guides/resources too). Without knowing who you are speaking to and their incentives, it would be easy for such a new user to get misled or given a biased view (by a maximalist) or worse, robbed/screwed over by rogue agent offering malicious advice or posts. So the short answer would be higher level background content - such as some of your own posts - that give a detailed, objective, well-balanced view of all pro's and cons - followed by more personal support once they are considering taking the orange pill.