If ur friend has some knowledge of crypto i would advise him to give him Ripple, but if he has not knowledge than better to avoid and give some thing else ( i mean not crypto coins) but some good books on crypto, and may be next birthday u can surprise him with some crypto coins as gift. coz holding coins in wallet or on exchanges is not a newbie thing, he might not be well versed with crypto hacks and may lose it. so better first let him gain some knowledge than gift him coins.