Introducing CryptoCurrency To My Grandpa

In order for Bitcoin and other Altcoins to continue to grow, I often wonder about the future user experience of using and storing cryptocurrency by non-technical types. I can remember that when I began my journey into digital alternative currencies, I was scared and nervous. My thoughts typically consisted of fear that I would type in a wallet address incorrectly (or any similar goof) and then my coins would be gone forever! My fear and uncertainty almost kept me from even beginning my journey at all! Fortunately for me, I have dozens of Steemit Users and Youtube Vloggers to thank for contributing amazing and useful content for Noobs like me.

This got me to thinking about how fortunate I am in this regard, but what about someone who has little to no technical skill. Would they even be able to use resources such as Steemit and Youtube at all?  In my state of wonder, I decided to take action and see how challenging it will be to show my Grandpa how to use digital currency.

What Wallet To Use?

I went back on forth on this initially, as I want to urge my Granpa to use a hardware wallet, such as the one I use. But I can tell you that starting my Grandpa off on the Keepkey that I use, would likely scare him away. Keepkey is a fantastic device that allows for me to have control of my keys and also store multiple currencies, such as Dash and Ether as well. KeepKey, however, is not as easy to use and setup as Coinbase. 

For this reason, I chose to start him off with Coinbase. First, Coinbase has a clean interface that looks similar to a bank interface and user experience. This will make it easy for Gramps to be able to login (from either desktop or mobile phone) and either purchase Bitcoin, Litecoin, or Ether. Gramps will also be able to easily send and receive payment. 

What Currencies To Use?

Since my Gramps is a beginner, what I don't want to do is confuse him right out of the gate. Trust me, I spent hours upon hours going down my own rabbit hole once I discovered Altcoins. I decided to start Grandpa off on Bitcoin (of course), Ethereum, Steem, and Dash. I chose Bitcoin and Ether because these are the two largest, and he will have a fun time learning about these two currencies first. I chose to add Steem to his portfolio, because he already has experience with Facebook, so I feel like Social Media meets Blockchain will be a great natural transition for a newbie. I also chose Dash, because Dash's whole marketing campaign and user interface is aimed at ease of use. 

The collection of these four cryptocurrencies, Dash, Ether, Bitcoin, and Steem are going to be the best place for Grandpa to begin the journey that I started a little over a month ago. Coinbase is the best wallet I have found for beginners as well. The only drawback is that Coinbase doesn't allow my Gramps to hold Dash or Steem, so I may have to find some other work around.

For now, however, my Gramps is happily awaiting delivery of his first Bitcoin order! Thank you Steem Community!!