Your Guide to Navigating Thanksgiving Crypto Conversations (2022 Bear Market Edition)

It’s Thanksgiving again in America. A time for friends, family, food, and (most importantly) football. You awake from your annual post-turkey nap to a TV replay of Tom Brady breaking another tablet from the morning game.

“I can’t imagine how many of those things Tom broke when he found out that his equity in FTX was worth $0,” says your uncle from the other side of the living room. “That SBF guy is going to jail for life. All these scammers think they’re wizards with the ability to create money out of thin air. You’re not still playing around with those computer coins are you?”

Half asleep, you remember the excitement you had explaining crypto to anyone that would listen at last year’s get-together. BTC and ETH had recently printed new all-time highs, “NFT” was crowned the word of the year, and algorithmic stablecoins still held real promise. You sit up in your recliner, brush aside these memories from the 2021 mania, and grab your phone. You knew this moment was coming — so you came prepared with Messari’s handy "Guide to Navigating Thanksgiving Crypto Conversations (2022 Bear Market Edition)."

With the frenzy of the bull market in the rearview mirror, fear, uncertainty, and doubt will retake center stage at this year’s holiday gatherings. This guide will help you find your footing when navigating the onslaught of questions you can expect to face from friends and family.

Restarting from First Principles

Laying some groundwork upfront will pay dividends when handling the big conversations that lie ahead. This doesn’t mean explaining the technical details of how a blockchain works, but rather using first principles to outline the core characteristics and ensuing benefits that define crypto.

Characteristics and Benefits