1. “As bad as it seems right now, trust me, Mt. Gox was worse.” It doesn’t even matter that you weren’t around or even aware of crypto when that infamous exchange went down in early 2014. Nobody can really disprove the statement. And it gives you credibility about having a long-term perspective. You know the ups and downs.
2. “The collapse of FTX just validates… crypto.” This is really the key one that you have to keep arguing over and over again — that FTX and these other entities that went down this year were just traditional banks that had bastardized the vision of Satoshi Nakamoto. There was nothing “crypto” about them and it’s good that they’re gone. Next cycle, we need to move more and more activity on chain (just don’t bring up Luna!).
3. “Real crypto is working just fine.” Point to the various decentralized exchanges (like Uniswap) or lending platforms (like AAVE) that have continued to operate, without seizing user money. This is the future! And it works today. (Again, don’t bring up Luna.)
4. “Oh you want to mock crypto? I guess you’ve never had to make a payment in a developing market.” If the arguments about “real” crypto aren’t working, then you have to establish your moral superiority over your relatives. Talk about how privileged everyone else at the dinner table is for living in a country with a functioning banking and payment system. (Feel free to say this, even if you yourself have no personal experience with making payments in a developing market either.)
5. “Crypto already has numerous use cases, like stablecoins.” If anyone asks what crypto is, you know, used for (and someone will!) point out how there’s over $100 billion held in stablecoins on Ethereum alone, and how this is a better way of making payments than traditional apps. And if you want to appeal to the patriotic instincts of anyone at the table, argue that this crypto is covertly expanding global dollar supremacy by making USD holdable by anyone with a smartphone anywhere in the world.
There are some other things you can point to as “use cases” as well. Show how easy it is to post your Ethereum as collateral to get stablecoins. Ask them if they can do that with their Tesla shares on Robinhood. They can’t. Then sell some coins with a few clicks and ask them if they can do that on Robinhood. Oh wait, they can’t do that either because the market is closed on Thanksgiving. Checkmate!
6. “Of course crashes happen. But outside of just trading, crypto is changing culture and art.” This is where you bring in the influence of NFTs on art and music. Talk about how you’re all about supporting creators and how traditional models hurt artists and fans. Maybe say something about the Taylor Swift/Ticketmaster fiasco as evidence of the old business models being broken. How do NFTs solve the Taylor Swift problem? Unclear, but that’s for another conversation.
Of course, be careful. One piece of advice: Maybe acknowledge that the apes look dumb, just as a way to shore up your credibility on this point. If anyone does bring up the apes, point to some cool on-chain generative art or something like that.
7. “Crypto is going to change gaming.” This is the corollary to the art discussion. Point to the kids in the family that have left the dinner table to start playing video games. Gesture towards them and talk about how that generation is digital first, and will want to actually be able to own the items that they play with online. Owning their characters and so forth. Moving them from game to game. Acknowledge that the first generation of crypto games were not that fun, but that better gameplay is coming soon.
8. “Bubbles are a crucial part of the innovation process and often leave behind productive infrastructure in their wake.” This is tricky, but sophisticated. Point to the railroads that were left behind after the railway bubble in the 1800s. Point to the telecom infrastructure that was built amid the dotcom boom.
What’s the equivalent for crypto? Well there’s nothing physical you can point to that’s the equivalent of railroads or bandwidth. So your best shot is to talk about the accumulated knowledge gains that have been made in cryptography and computer science, as a result of all this speculation. Talk about zero-knowledge proofs, and how this privacy tech will have a profound, positive impact on how we use the Internet. Argue that any financial institutions, even TradFi ones, will benefit from having to cryptographically prove their solvency at all times.
You can even talk about Automated Market Makers, and how if you stipulate that right now they’re just being used for the trading of magic beans, that one day they can be used to trade equities or currencies without the need for a middleman. The code that’s been built up to support crypto trading is the infrastructure that will power a future golden age of financial markets.
9. “We needed a crash to weed out unhealthy speculators.” Maybe the line about bubbles being good and necessary is unconvincing. So instead talk about how crashes are good and necessary. Crypto is a long game, and it’s good for the ecosystem that the newbs and short-term pump and dumpers are out of the game. Now it’s time to build! And since you’re still here, arguing with family at Thanksgiving, then obviously you weren’t just in it for the quick buck. You’re one of the good ones, and in it for the long haul.
10. “It’s a mere 485 days until Bitcoin’s next halving!” It can’t possibly be priced in yet.
Bloomberg
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