XMR on Nostr: ### Explaining Monero to Grandpa ### ...
### Explaining Monero to Grandpa ###
grandpa, Have you heard about Monero?
you know how we always talk about cash disapearing, CBDCs and how bad is that for our privacy, right? Well, Monero is digital money that works like cash. So, in a way, it solves that problem.
you know you have a bank account and an application in your mobile to access it, right?
The bank gives you an user name and a password. You enter and you have acesss to your account, you can send money, check your balance, etc.
well, with Monero, since it is anonymous digital cash, you need an app as well to access your money, and as with the bank, you have an account number which is called an address and a password, which is called a private key, but in essence is the same, but since geeks are developing the tech and they are not street smart they complicate the terminology doing the best they can. Yes Grandpa, I know is stupid but is not much to learn. Bank Account = Monero Address and Password = Private Key.
That was easy right?
So, you install a Monero App, I like "Cake Wallet", you do so from the Android App store or iOS store and in under a minute you have an account and you are ready to rock-n-roll.
Next you want to buy some Monero to send digital cash to your grandkids and you want to do so easily with your bank fiat dollars, and inside of the Cake Wallet app you can do so with your credit card or debit card or a bank transfer, easy as pie. You want to send $50 bucks, just buy $50 bucks worth of Monero.
Now, Monero as any other global currency has an exchange rate with the US dollar, today is around $200 for 1 Monero, the ticker symbol for Monero is
XMR as with the dollar is USD. So at that exchange rate you do the math (actually the application does it for you but I know you would like to check it by yourself), 50 USD divided by 200 XMR/USD = 0.25 XMR
Now this app Cake Wallet is really cool, you can access your contacts from it. You add your grandkids Monero addresses as contacts and every time you want to send them anonymous digital cash it is three clicks and you are done, click on send, select contact, add amount in dollars or Monero and click send.
Your grandkids will get the notification right away and the cash will be a available for then within 10 minutes. Those 10 minutes is the time it takes a bunch of computers around the world to validate the transaction. No worries there are more chances your bank screw up a transfer than a transaction does not work in Monero.
now you may ask how my grandkids convert it to dollars or any other fiat currency they may need to pay for good and services. Very easy, Cake Wallet allows you to sell as well, the cash is transfer to your bank account or debit card, my preference is to buy gift cards with Monero, easily and quick and them, pay for goods in stores that do not accept directly Monero, but there are online and physical stores that accept it already,
Isn't that cool?
#### Potential conversation a week later... ####
Grandpa: Hey kid, did you get the Monero I sent you?
Me: Yes! You are the best!!!
Grandpa: I have a question for you. Your cousing John asked me to send him USDT instead, he says is a stable currency like the dollar and he can use it right away.
Me: That idiot. Grandpa, the problem with USDT is that is not anonymous nor private at all, if you had an USDT account and you send him USDT from your account, John and anyone that sees that transaction will know exactly how much you have in that account and will know every transaction you had ever done, only Monero is private anonymous digital cash, as I explained you, like hard cash, no different. The rest is like the CBDCs we so much talk about, traceable, non private and pseudo anonymous but not for the receiver. USDT is a centralized company as well and can block or seize your money at any time if they wish to do so.
Grandpa: I knew it, that dumb dumb, I asked him if it was private and John told me that it was 100% private and secure. I will let him know Monero or no instant cash gift from now on.
Me: Cool, glad we talk.
Grandpa: Hey, What do you know about #Bitcoin, is it safe?
Me: Yes, but you need to know what you are doing, you woul need to run your own software on dedicated hardware and learn about different technical concepts like Layer 1 or base layer and Layer 2 networks like the Lighting Network and the concept of channels and the balance of them, there is a slow learning curve if you want to use it in the right way. The creator was not thinking about privacy when it wrote the code therefore is not ideal to transact. Little by little is improving and is a good store of value. Hey you should buy the ETF on your portfolio or perhaps best to buy stocks of MicroStrategy, that company is already a hedge fund of Bitcoin, check their chart and next time we meet, we can tall about it over a cold beer.
Grandpa: Nice!, love you kid
Me: Me too!
grandpa, Have you heard about Monero?
you know how we always talk about cash disapearing, CBDCs and how bad is that for our privacy, right? Well, Monero is digital money that works like cash. So, in a way, it solves that problem.
you know you have a bank account and an application in your mobile to access it, right?
The bank gives you an user name and a password. You enter and you have acesss to your account, you can send money, check your balance, etc.
well, with Monero, since it is anonymous digital cash, you need an app as well to access your money, and as with the bank, you have an account number which is called an address and a password, which is called a private key, but in essence is the same, but since geeks are developing the tech and they are not street smart they complicate the terminology doing the best they can. Yes Grandpa, I know is stupid but is not much to learn. Bank Account = Monero Address and Password = Private Key.
That was easy right?
So, you install a Monero App, I like "Cake Wallet", you do so from the Android App store or iOS store and in under a minute you have an account and you are ready to rock-n-roll.
Next you want to buy some Monero to send digital cash to your grandkids and you want to do so easily with your bank fiat dollars, and inside of the Cake Wallet app you can do so with your credit card or debit card or a bank transfer, easy as pie. You want to send $50 bucks, just buy $50 bucks worth of Monero.
Now, Monero as any other global currency has an exchange rate with the US dollar, today is around $200 for 1 Monero, the ticker symbol for Monero is
XMR as with the dollar is USD. So at that exchange rate you do the math (actually the application does it for you but I know you would like to check it by yourself), 50 USD divided by 200 XMR/USD = 0.25 XMR
Now this app Cake Wallet is really cool, you can access your contacts from it. You add your grandkids Monero addresses as contacts and every time you want to send them anonymous digital cash it is three clicks and you are done, click on send, select contact, add amount in dollars or Monero and click send.
Your grandkids will get the notification right away and the cash will be a available for then within 10 minutes. Those 10 minutes is the time it takes a bunch of computers around the world to validate the transaction. No worries there are more chances your bank screw up a transfer than a transaction does not work in Monero.
now you may ask how my grandkids convert it to dollars or any other fiat currency they may need to pay for good and services. Very easy, Cake Wallet allows you to sell as well, the cash is transfer to your bank account or debit card, my preference is to buy gift cards with Monero, easily and quick and them, pay for goods in stores that do not accept directly Monero, but there are online and physical stores that accept it already,
Isn't that cool?
#### Potential conversation a week later... ####
Grandpa: Hey kid, did you get the Monero I sent you?
Me: Yes! You are the best!!!
Grandpa: I have a question for you. Your cousing John asked me to send him USDT instead, he says is a stable currency like the dollar and he can use it right away.
Me: That idiot. Grandpa, the problem with USDT is that is not anonymous nor private at all, if you had an USDT account and you send him USDT from your account, John and anyone that sees that transaction will know exactly how much you have in that account and will know every transaction you had ever done, only Monero is private anonymous digital cash, as I explained you, like hard cash, no different. The rest is like the CBDCs we so much talk about, traceable, non private and pseudo anonymous but not for the receiver. USDT is a centralized company as well and can block or seize your money at any time if they wish to do so.
Grandpa: I knew it, that dumb dumb, I asked him if it was private and John told me that it was 100% private and secure. I will let him know Monero or no instant cash gift from now on.
Me: Cool, glad we talk.
Grandpa: Hey, What do you know about #Bitcoin, is it safe?
Me: Yes, but you need to know what you are doing, you woul need to run your own software on dedicated hardware and learn about different technical concepts like Layer 1 or base layer and Layer 2 networks like the Lighting Network and the concept of channels and the balance of them, there is a slow learning curve if you want to use it in the right way. The creator was not thinking about privacy when it wrote the code therefore is not ideal to transact. Little by little is improving and is a good store of value. Hey you should buy the ETF on your portfolio or perhaps best to buy stocks of MicroStrategy, that company is already a hedge fund of Bitcoin, check their chart and next time we meet, we can tall about it over a cold beer.
Grandpa: Nice!, love you kid
Me: Me too!