... And he says... "NO, NO, NO. Not for me - I learned my lesson"
No Dumb-Ass... You didn't learn shit! ...
Yes he did. He learned two valuable lessons:
1. Don't invest in something that you don't understand.
2. Don't invest in something just because some random relative tells you to.
Here's my lesson for you:
1. Don't recommend investments to friends or relatives.
Completely agree.
It's my personal experience, I saw many newbies are a bit interested even fascinated about Bitcoin. But no one actually willing to understand what is Bitcoin. So my suggestion will be, encourage people to get into Bitcoin not for investing money but spending more time to understand the ecosystem and technology used behind Bitcoin. This will help in a more realistic way, which will give confidence and mobility and trust in the enviournment of Bitcoin technology.
In the above story person who bought Bitcoin just on a suggestion, request or order by someone, so we cannot say him as "Trader". But in case of buying and selling of Bitcoins, a person must have basic knowledge of trading. Introducing such a risk involved investment to relative or friends can bring them in trouble considering asset and equity.