The 2021 Money Items Information: From Crypto to Tungsten Cubes

“There’s a set price to getting began, and there’s no method round that,” mentioned

Lex Sokolin,

head economist and world fintech co-head at ConsenSys, a blockchain software program know-how firm. “It’s such as you’re displaying as much as your good friend’s home in 2002 and giving them an MP3 participant and saying, ‘Right here’s an MP3 participant, now go throw out all of your CDs.’”

Hassles apart, many mother and father, youngsters and even associates are embracing these new merchandise—at the least for the extra digital-savvy of their lives. Simply as inventory certificates and financial savings bonds had been items with a function in years previous, items of crypto or NFT artwork can educate the recipient about monetary independence, investing and saving.

“Giving cash can also be giving an schooling,” mentioned Shari Greco Reiches, wealth supervisor and co-founder of Rappaport Reiches Capital Administration.

With that spirit in thoughts, listed here are a few of the most 2021 methods to provide cash—not a present card in sight.

Crypto starter packs

One straightforward method to assist somebody dip a toe into the world of digital forex is giving them a makeshift crypto starter pack.

Alex Salnikov,

co-founder and head of product of NFT market Rarible, mentioned he has arrange wallets for associates with the promise of then giving them an NFT on the opposite facet. He additionally recommends merchandise corresponding to Linkdrop, which permit the giver to ship onboarding hyperlinks to start organising their very own wallets.

Coinbase gives an choice to share crypto property with these not but arrange on their community, together with a message and a “enjoyable little welcome,” mentioned

John Zettler,

senior product supervisor at Coinbase. Establishing a pockets on Coinbase is free.

“These are successfully the keys to the group, and with it you make the individual part of mentioned group,” Mr. Salnikov mentioned.

Forex

If somebody has already arrange their very own crypto pockets, Mr. Salnikov recommends giving them the coin or cryptocurrency most helpful for his or her most well-liked actions, simply as you would possibly select a present card for his or her favourite retailer, slightly than a generic

Visa

reward card.

Not like organising the pockets—free on many platforms—these cash don’t run low-cost. Bitcoin rose in worth from $30,000 on the finish of 2020 to just about $70,000 in 2021. Ethereum, one other standard coin, is inexpensive at near $4,300. You should purchase parts of cryptocurrency, nevertheless, and each bitcoin is divisible, which suggests you should buy a slice of 1 at virtually any quantity you want to.

Memecoins, or a cryptocurrency associated to an Web joke, corresponding to dogecoin, received’t set you again as a lot. (At its peak, dogecoin reached 75 cents in Could 2021.) Sending these is “actually just like the monetary equal of sending a humorous cat image,” Mr. Sokolin mentioned.

NFTs

NFTs are finest described as vouchers of authenticity for digital property, be it artwork or music or anything. They’ve surged in recognition this 12 months, only some years after they had been first created in 2017. Marketplaces corresponding to Rarible, Open Sea and Nifty Gateway can provide a number of concepts for NFT items, corresponding to an animated rainbow cat illustration for 0.6 Ethereum and a GIF of dancing Taco Bell tacos for 4 Ethereum.

“It’s a novel digital 1-1 merchandise that solely you’ll be able to personal, and that may characterize so many various issues. So it comes all the way down to: What does the recipient of the reward like?” Mr. Zettler mentioned.

Relying on the desirability and availability of the given merchandise, NFTs can even rise in worth. NBA Prime Shot permits customers to buy key moments in basketball historical past; legendary public sale home Christie’s now gives unique artistic endeavors to be bought as NFTs; and bands corresponding to Kings of Leon are releasing albums as NFTs.

Control the worth tag: These unique collectibles can price anyplace from a single greenback to the multimillions.

Monetary merchandise for youngsters

Establishing a custodial funding account for a kid can introduce them to investing, mentioned

Jordan Wexler,

co-founder and chief govt of gifting platform EarlyBird.

Many brokerages and companies provide this selection. Mr. Wexler’s product permits mother and father, grandparents or different grownup reward givers to arrange custodial funding accounts for youngsters from delivery, full with video messages for explicit celebrations, corresponding to holidays and birthdays.

“There’s such an fascinating motion in folks not wanting waste anymore and leaning closely into, ‘How will you cost one thing emotionally, greater than a toy you give?’ ” Mr. Wexler mentioned.

Givers may give anyplace from $15 to $2,500 at a frequency of their alternative, doing in order both a recurring or one-time deposit.

Ms. Reiches has a extra conventional advice: Give cash to a 529 plan, which permits mother and father, grandparents and different adults to take a position cash that can be utilized for a beneficiary’s certified schooling bills.

Memestocks

Memestocks surged initially of this 12 months. Then they fell. Then they rose once more. Amid all of it,

GameStop,

AMC and different tickers have grow to be family names.

Giving a share of those shares is one choice to guess on memestocks. It’s also possible to buy a fractional share, Ms. Reiches mentioned. Exhibiting your recipient observe the progress of their funding may be its personal expertise.

“Speak to the kid about what corporations they like and what corporations they’re following,” she mentioned. “It could actually educate self-discipline, long-term considering and delayed gratification.”

Tungsten cubes

The Tungsten dice holds particular enchantment for individuals who need to take the intangible—the world of cryptocurrency, NFTs and decentralized finance—and make it tangible. These crypto fanatics achieve this with small grey cubes of the steel tungsten, a substance almost twice as dense as lead. The cubes run anyplace from $400 for a 2-inch dice to $3,000 for a 4-inch dice.

Nic Carter, one of many unique champions of the dice, mentioned he has beforehand given them to household and associates for the vacations. However for these out of the joke, the reward might not resonate the best way you hope.

“I’d solely suggest that as a present of somebody who’s very, very into crypto and on crypto

Twitter.

In any other case they’re going to stare at you with a clean face like, ‘What’s that?’ ” Mr. Zettler mentioned.

Write to Julia Carpenter at Julia.Carpenter@wsj.com