I have seen and witness people involving in bitcoin, most people can not stay a moment without panicking. A colleague of mine who have Minuit bitcoin has buggy me with chats and calls to update if bitcoin will survive this years, why can't people know what you're engaging into first before diving into it and start acting like a child. Different set of people are into this bitcoin, even people don't have investment are making noise of bitcoin price collapsing.
But come to think of it many have bitcoin in B figures but you can't hear them making noise but people with $30 will not allow you to rest especially if you're responsible for introducing them. Bitcoin will rise when is due to rise, remove fear and plenty rumors.
Lack of orientation is the problem, people now are days come with the common knowledge of Bitcoin and when their expectation doesn't align with the reality they saw with Bitcoin, that is when fear comes in and they start panicking. Your friend obviously doesn't have a proper guide about how Bitcoin works otherwise, he wouldn't be bothered about how the performance has been this year or how it will go this year, there is much in Bitcoin you can enjoy rather than just the usual buying and selling but adequate knowledge is what they lack.
You are also making it look like you are belittling your friend, I mean $30 is big money to some people and the fact that it is his hard earned money, you shouldn't make it look as if the guy didn't make an effort and besides, you have to try the little you can afford to lose so you don't regret later. Next time you want to introduce someone to crypto, tell them what they need to know, not the usual sugar coating and hype.