Moonlanding’s Christmas List: What Degens Actually Want

The Funny Stuff

Starting with an absolute classic - the humble cap. Whether you snagged something fire at a conference or found something that references an inside joke, you really can't go wrong. The strong pick for the last few years has been the black "FTX Risk Management Department" cap. Nothing says "I survived 2022" quite like that one. Bonus points if you can get legit FTX merch.

For the friends with bags heavier than Santa's sled, consider getting them merch of their most underwater investment. Token-specific swag hits different when they're down 90% but still "believing in the tech." Want to go extra savage? DIY a framed printout of their Hyperliquid PnL. Truly a work of modern art worthy of any degen's wall.

If you want to commit to the bit even further, custom "certificate of ownership" frames work wonders. Print out their worst trade, add some fancy borders, maybe a wax seal, and present it like a diploma. Nothing heals trading trauma like leaning into it.

 The In-Between Zone

For the chartoor who checks prices more often than their messages, consider gifting them an e-ink display dedicated to showing real-time prices of their favorite underperforming ticker. It's like a digital pet, except instead of feeding it, you just watch numbers go down. Therapeutic in a weird way, and saves them from compulsively opening TradingView every few minutes.

For the sticker collector, a pack of protocol logos and crypto memes to slap on laptops and water bottles never disappoints. Low effort, high nostalgia value.

The Serious Gifts

Now for the actually useful stuff.

A surprisingly great gift is a "burner" wallet. Came across burner.pro at DevConnect, and the concept is beautifully simple: an NFC chip embedded in a physical card for signing transactions. It's not cold storage nor a crypto debit card. It's essentially a wallet with an Ethereum address whose signing key lives on the NFC chip. Perfect for someone just entering the space, it's affordable, tactile, and you can even pre-fund it before handing it over. Nothing says "welcome to crypto" like gifting someone their first wallet with a little ETH already loaded.

Want to level up the self-custody game? Time to look at proper hardware wallets. 

• Ledger if you want the sleekest UX and build quality (yes, we know about the seed phrase controversy, they've addressed it). 

• Trezor for the quantum-resistance flexers who want to brag at parties. 

• Keystone for the truly paranoid who want air-gapped security, though even air-gapped solutions have shown vulnerability to certain MPC attacks, so no solution is perfect. 

Whatever your pick, a hardware wallet is genuinely something every person in crypto should have. Just remember to verify both hardware and software integrity before sending any assets to it.

On the OpSec front, a Yubikey or similar hardware 2FA device makes for a thoughtful gift. Most people don't upgrade their 2FA until it's too late. 

For the friend who has everything, consider funding an ENS domain in their name, or gift them their first .eth identity if they've been putting it off. Digital identity is priceless and ENS has become the standard. Additionally, ENS allows you to host static websites through your domains, making it a great gift for someone to play around with and explore decentralized applications beyond just having a cool wallet name.

Whatever you choose, remember: the best gifts come from understanding your fellow degen's position in the market. Are they up? Celebrate with them. Are they down? Make them laugh about it. Happy holidays, and may your gifts bring more joy than a surprise airdrop!

Yours truly.