Speckle and Kusama Gifts are a new way to send DOT or KSM to anyone, even if they don’t already have one Account or wallet.
Onboarding new users is one of the biggest challenges for any blockchain network. For members of the Polkadot community, the only way to get friends and family new to the blockchain on board with Polkadot so far has been to teach them how to set up their own wallet or send it to a central custodian.
Now, community members can use Polkadot or Kusama gifts to send DOT or KSM to friends and family in a trusted and unsecured manner, and they are guided through the process of setting up an account and wallet. Gift recipients do not need to have any prior knowledge of blockchain technology.
Polkadot gifts provide an easy way to:
- Friends or family on board who are curious about blockchain but haven’t made the leap yet
- Share your love for polkadot and send any amount on DOT or KSM
- Say “thank you” or token to someone if you don’t know their address
- Prepare friends and family to participate in crowdloans
With Polkadot Gifts you can generate a unique “secret for gifts”, a 16-digit number that your recipient can use as a voucher to claim the gift.
First, visit the website for Polkadot Gifts (for DOT gifts) or Kusama Gifts (for KSM gifts). The process is the same in both networks:
1. Connect your account through the Polkadot JS browser extension, your Ledger device, or Parity Signer.
2. Enter the recipient’s name and the amount you want to send. Confirm the information and click on “Confirm”. This will generate a transaction that you must sign as with any transaction.
3. Once the gift has been generated, you’re good to go! Simply send the message * with the unique gift secret to the recipient using your preferred secure messaging app, or print out the message and give it to them personally.
* Note that anyone with access to the gift secret can claim your gift. It should therefore only be passed on to the intended recipient and kept in a safe place until the gift is claimed. As soon as the gift is claimed by the recipient, the gift secret has no longer any value.
Gift recipients just need to visit Polkadot Gifts or Kusama Gifts page and they will be guided through the process of claiming the gift and setting up an account and wallet with the Polkadot JS browser extension if they don’t already have one. If you already have an account, you can simply request the gift to your existing address.
How do you explain Blockchain and Polkadot to friends and family in simple terms after you’ve sent your gift?
For starters, blockchain could be described as a new type of computing technology that is being used to create a new, fairer version of the internet that doesn’t rely on intermediaries, where users and not big companies own and control their own data about what they do online.
Polkadot is a blockchain that connects other blockchains into a single network, giving them security and the ability to communicate with each other. Polkadot was designed to lay the foundation for this new, fairer internet, also known as Web 3.0, by bringing together different blockchain networks into a single collaborative system.
For more beginner-friendly polkadot explainers, see What is Polkadot Part 1 and Part 2, the Polkadot Lightpaper, and watch this animated explainer video.
Are you ready to try it out and send your first gifts? Visit Polkadot Gifts to send DOT or Kusama Gifts to send KSM.
Polkadot is a scalable shard chain and the first protocol to offer a secure environment for multiple shards to be assembled across chains. Polkadot also introduces a sophisticated, open system of governance that allows the network to renew and grow much faster than older networks. Stay up to date on what’s happening in the ecosystem by following Polkadot on Twitter or joining the conversation on Reddit.
