AITAH For telling my son that his Bitcoin isn’t real?

A Reddit user explains a clash with his wife after he clarified to their son that the “Bitcoin” gift she gave him—a physical, fake coin with a Bitcoin logo—wasn’t an actual Bitcoin worth $60k, but rather a souvenir.

Concerned that his son might misunderstand and face teasing from friends, he gently corrected the confusion. However, his wife is upset, feeling he spoiled the fun. Read the story below to see if you think he did the right thing by being honest.

‘ AITAH For telling my son that his Bitcoin isn’t real?’

My wife keeps doin s**t like this. She recently bought a fake gold coin with the Bitcoin logo on it from Ebay cause she loves spending money on dumb s**t. She then gifts this coin to my son telling him it’s a Bitcoin, and it’s worth over 60k.

My son’s at the age where some of his smarter friends with older siblings are starting to understand things like crypto. I don’t want my son to sound like a fkn m**on and get bullied when he claims he has a Bitcoin, and his friends run the usual interrogation that kids do to find he is talking about a physical fake gold coin.

So I sit my son down and gently try to correct his understanding. Told him that the coin was actually just a commemorative item for someone who is holding a bitcoin, which is digital currency.

Told him that his physical coin actually isn’t the Bitcoin. And the kid understands. But my wife is just fkn sneeeering at me like I told a 5 year old Santa was fake. Wtf…Am I an a**hole?

These are the responses from Reddit users:

WinnerActive9414 −  NTA you kept your kid from getting made fun of by his friends. Give your wife a fake piece of jewelry for your anniversary and tell her it is worth $60k and see how she likes it.

barugosamaa −  NTA. You prevented him from getting turned into the joke of the friend group. My wife keeps doin s**t like this. she loves spending money on dumb s**t. Start to think this isnt the first time she buy something online and lies to your kid about what it is

Lumpy_Marsupial_1559 −  Your wife is setting him up to get roasted. I don’t think she cares about his hypothetical faith in something. I think she just wants that dopamine hit from when he goes, ‘Wow, mom, that’s amazing!’

And doesn’t actually care about any of the consequences for him. It’s all about HER getting a kick out of it. She’s looking at you like that because you took away *her* fun.

I-will-judge-YOU −  You have a much bigger problem than just the situation. Your wife is setting your son up for ridicule and she’s doing it for no other reason than her own entertainment. This was never going to end well. I would ask Her what her plan was.

What was her goal of this?Because the only thing I can see is to hurt your child. So yeah, you have a much bigger problem. Because your son is not going to trust. Her probably already doesn’t. And it’s going to be a pretty significant problem.

The fact that your wife wants your son to fail is a massive red flag. Actually it’s not a flag, it is a big f**king problem. Your wife is a horrible parent, please protect your son.

RelevantInternet2100 −  Absolutely NTA. Your son can still show off the digital bitcoin if he wants, he’ll just look smarter doing it. If the wife wanted a better gift for him to parade around she should’ve given him a better gift.

Error404_Error420 −  NTA – You should give her a picture of a piece of jewelry or plane ticket for her next gift and say it has the same value as the real thing

quiiintz −  More important than the ridicule part, this kid is going to think he has $60k hanging around. Which once he gets a little older is going to lead to some issues. Even if it’s just thinking of things he wants to buy, it will lead to disappointment.

Especially when he asks to sell his bitcoin to buy something expensive. He’ll be crushed when he can’t but what he wants because his mom gave him a $2 commemorative token.

Eerie_Onions −  Why would she do such a thing? You’re absolutely NTA and saved your kid from a roasting.

FirebirdWriter −  My mother lies like this. She is a diagnosed n**cissist. This is a concerning reaction to being corrected and a very fast way for her to undermine trust. Lying will end relationships because I don’t rebuild trust as a direct result.

Now I try but I don’t have the “and I trust you again” happen. My wife knows. Survival lies are acceptable. Yes I am also autistic but… Even if I wasn’t? The trauma of the constant lying and never knowing what was real has effected me into my 40s.

Therapy helped some but you’re doing something I wish my father did. Giving him an anchor to reality. Does she gaslight a lot? It’s worth noting how often she lies to you and your child about things that will come back to harm him this way.

I started fact checking with encyclopedias both parents (my father the diagnosed psychopath also lied constantly as did my elder siblings and Mother’s Mother). Keep doing this. She can be angry about it but she is harming your child.

The_White_Ferret −  Your wife is an i**ot

Do you think the Redditor was right to clear up the misunderstanding, or should he have let his son enjoy the moment a little longer? How would you balance honesty and playfulness in situations like this? Share your thoughts in the comments!