Bitcoin Forum

In many discussions and explanations, Bitcoin is typically referred to as a "virtual" currency. This often seems to be interpreted as somehow "less real", especially by people who are new to Bitcoin. As if it's some kinda magical fantasy bogus money from cyberspace. To a lesser extent, the same goes for "digital". Even in 2013, there are still people who think "not tangible = not real" (makes me wonder: are bank accounts not real?)

I hereby urge you all to stop doing this. By introducing Bitcoin this way, you impose an unnecessary interpretation for people that really doesn't help to get a correct grasp of what Bitcoin really is.

Yeah, I know, Bitcoin is mostly digital. Well guess what: so are the Euro and Dollar. People traditionally call fiat money "hard cash", but almost every single Euro and Dollar in existence (more than 99%) exists only digital. And just like WoW-gold, they are literally created at whim by some issuing authority out of thin air, at the press of a button, in any volumes they see fit. How "real" is that? Doesn't work that way with Bitcoin. So in fact, Bitcoin is less virtual than Euros or Dollars or WoW-gold.

And besides, do these look virtual or digital to you?

http://s16.postimg.org/kaqwtjs2t/physical_bitcoins.png

So, Bitcoin is "free" (as in speech) money, that doesn't require banks, and cannot be controlled, seized, restricted or issued by some government, company, FED, central bank, or any other authority. But it sure as hell ain't "virtual". It's just as real as the internet, email, bank accounts and credit cards.

Thank you.

ok virtual jesus. get off your digital cross.

Somebody has forgot where they left their meds.

Uh those are custom made not real coins :)

Calm down , everything is going to be ok! :P

I prefer people not be intellectually lazy.

I will NOT stop referring to Bitcoin as 'virtual' or 'digital' because that is exactly what it is. If people can't wrap their little muppet heads around it, that isn't OUR problem.

Anyone who operates in the digital world immediately 'gets' this. The lumbering dinosaurs that don't will become extinct anyway, so why "dumb" it down?

Even better, could start calling everything 'vitual' and 'digital'. "I just visited that virtual website." "Can you bring my digital computer?" "I can never keep up with my virtual inbox; all these digital messages are driving me crazy." 

My point is: there is no point in explaining Bitcoin as virtual or digital currency, because that doesn't distinguish it from any other currency whatsoever. We don't call Euros and Dollars virtual or digital currencies either, even though they are (even more so than Bitcoin).

Explicitly introducing Bitcoin as being digital or virtual (as if that would make it any different from other currency) only takes away the focus from what actually are unique properties of Bitcoin. Such as independency, or being limited and perfectly predictable in supply.

I personally want BTC to be thought of as play money to keep the 1% off our backs until it is too late for them.

Sure thing! But when is that gonna be? When there's enough market adoption, and Bitcoin has become so large they can't stop it anymore. Which depends on more and more people having a proper understanding of what Bitcoin is, and the benefits it offers. So let's put emphasis on these benefits and the things that truly make Bitcoin unique, rather than irrelevant details such as being digital which only creates confusion and misunderstanding.

LOL :D

Just because someone is "virtual" doesn't mean it isn't "real".

In time people will understand, infact we need to keep calling it virtual currency so people can start to educate them self on what it actually means to be "real".

I  think it is correct to refer bitcoins as virtual currency. Because, bitcoins are not the official currency of any country. And can not be used to pay tax either.

Getting all riled up over semantics like this is the most useless expenditure of mental energy. The same goes for those working diligently to figure out what we should call fractions of a Bitcoin (mBTC vs. satoshis vs. whatever they've come up with now). We don't need to spoon-feed sanitized and PR packaged Bitcoin to those who are unwilling or incapable of understanding what it is. Those who do understand its power should be the ones that reap the benefits of early adoption. The mental energy that's being spent to try and figure out how to re-package Bitcoin for these people would be better spent teaching them what it ACTUALLY is. A virtual currency, backed by the power of cryptographic protocols and a p2p network that maintains its legitimacy. Maybe I just have too much faith in humanity...

- Homeboy Sandman

It is correct and silly to say because everything around these parts is digital and virtual.


That's a non-sequitur.

Also, Chuckie Cheese tokens aren't an official currency and cannot be used to pay tax, yet they aren't virtual or digital currency.

I'm a mathematician, not a marketer.

I believe Bitcoin is a virtual currency so that's how I describe it.

If we are discussing what is virtual and what is physical I would reject physical notes/coins (both BTC and USD) as being amounts of the currency itself.  To me they are nothing more than physical items which represent an amount of a virtual currency.

I can see Gold as a physical currency in so far as one can defend Gold's modern day use as a facilitator of trade.

Finally, I reject the description of Bitcoin as a digital currency.  The name Bitcoin is used for both the system and the currency: the former is digital, the latter is not.

Chuckie Cheese  Chuck E. Cheese

(just saying)

Why you in such a hurry?  Enjoy the hoarding phase.  Who cares about what other people think, for now.

Nah, it's still a digital currency.  That doesn't need to change; what needs to change are people's minds.

For example, I sell digital artwork; it's not real in the sense that it cannot exist without the help of a computer to realize it into existence, but the time spent creating them is the same as if I'd done the same process with a canvas and paint.  Many people acknowledge this as art; however, there are still people who cannot and will not accept digital art as art, simply because it's not real.  The same goes for electronic music; many people do not believe digital music is music, and instead will believe that only music created with real instruments counts as music.  Though many of us disagree with these views, the fact remains that people still believe that digital things aren't real and shouldn't be taken seriously.

On the other hand, I believe that anyone who pays 15$ for a weapon or a hat in Team Fortress 2 must be crazy, but it happens, all the time; some rare hats go up to the hundreds and the thousands of dollars range.  It's just something people have to get over.

Now, digital money is not a very new thing (in the sense of how old the Internet is, which, if we think about it, nothing digital is actually very old at all), and there's a lot of prejudice against digital money, namely that it's not to be taken seriously (WoW gold, Neopoints, and even recently, Amazon Coin.)  Because of this, there is a hurdle people must cross before they'd accept Bitcoin; it's not that Bitcoin isn't digital (I believe that's a perfect descriptor), it's that people won't take it seriously because it is digital.  As with all things, it only takes time for this mindset to change.  It wasn't that long ago that people who found relationships online were viewed as weirdos, people who stay inside all day and never go out and meet people, but now everyone's got a Facebook and relationships happen all the time without two people ever meeting in person before, and it's normal, now.  It's normal to know and enjoy the 'company' of people online, though before it was almost taboo, and that trend is likely to continue the longer something or an activity is around.  All it takes is time.

It's an alien currency used by non-solar system-born human  ;D

It appears that virtual is already a legal definition of the currency as per the USA

Others may of course call it whatever they please but in a US Court it will probably be referred to as virtual

LOL!

I do not mind explaining it as a math based currency, then I call it a digital or virtual currency. Once they have some understanding of the math(I explain the search for prime numbers, most of their brains seem to jump back to 3rd grade, 3,5,7,11)

Bitcoin is a protocol for transferring and storing value using the Internet.
Unlike gold, it excels as a borderless currency as it can be transferred without friction, to anyone, in almost any amount and without going through a central point.

Bitcoin is digital like credit cards, debit cards, internet banking and compact discs.

Bitcoin is virtual like the brain's perception of the universe.

Not following but a Ctrl-F "cryptoc..." tells me to yell out loud.

Bitcoin is a CryptoCurrency !!!,
That a naming convention used almost everywhere.

(Just a suggestion)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptocurrency
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_currency
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_economies

Lol!

I almost got where the OP was coming from until I read this and it reminded me that I despise idiocy.

Yep. Mining is a construction to decentralize the issuing of new bitcoins and creating global consensus about what transactions took place.

Yeah I know. So are the Euro and Dollar, and payment methods like PayPal, credit cards, or wire transfers. Yet we don't refer to them explicitly as 'digital' either. Because the being digital part, although true, is not important, and only draws away attention from what IS important and unique about Bitcoin.

As soon as emphasis is put on the being digital or virtual part, the immediate response from Average Joe will be "so it's actually not real money" or "so it's like some kinda WoW-gold", and you wander off into some pointless discussion that's not about the independency of banks and monetary freedom that Bitcoin offers.

Whether we like it or not, the majority of people are intellectually lazy, reluctant to change, unwilling or incapable of immediately grasping revolutionary ideas, and, well, to some extent, idiots.

But ultimately, for Bitcoin to become the great success we all hope for, we also depend on this majority.

Now we can all put our heads in the sand, not accept these facts and simply desire things to be different (which won't change jack shit and thus will keep lots of people from properly grasping Bitcoin). Or we can think about what way of explaining Bitcoin to the masses works best for getting more people interested in, understanding, and accepting Bitcoin as a viable alternative for fiat debt-based bank-controlled money.

To do this then we must address the larger issue in the room, acceptance.  Right now a minor number of individuals are using bitcoins and I would have to say that we are at a time where there is minimal growth of acceptance and or use of the coin.  The value of a bitcoin currently from what I am seeing is reflecting this with it stable and minor reductions in price over time as difficulty (which should correlate with availability of new coins) increases.  Just like the dollar the only value any of these instruments provide is in its ability to conduct transactions and the number of instruments required to do so. 

We saw with the run up that bitcoin was used to solve a regional issue and so the number of bitcoins on the street sank while the price increased, a basic supply and demand situation.  What I see us lacking at this time is increased demand.  Without that demand you cannot change minds because you lack the audience to do so.
Call this what you will but at the end of the day they are all instruments and the only value any of it brings is its ability to conduct transactions at the greatest value.  That is why so many countries use the US Dollar not because of the physical fact but all of the different values associated with the item.  Take for instance Burma and the fact the they not only trade in black market dollars but they even put a value on the physical quality of the actual paper note.  People use dollars, yen, pounds and other instruments in many ways and once you have that kind of influence then you can command the changing of minds.

So in conclusion if you want folks to think about bitcoins in some other light then we as a community must tackle acceptance with a greater passion or this entire venture will be a foot note in the history books.

I 100% agree that wide acceptance and usage is what is needed. Here is a thread to post ANY ideas that will help to achieve that no matter how outlandish. Including suggestions as to what organization/s may undertake this task.

 Promotion of Bitcoin to the Public . Give them something FREE

Then I guess you didn't yet notice the widespread consolidation that's been taking place in the bitcoin mining space?... Oh well.

Well.... Bitcoin is a digital/virtual/online/decentralized/p2p currency.

I think people can understand that. I think what really confuses people is the use of the word "mining" that overshadows the fact that the basis is of bitcoins is really a public Blockchain that works as a ledger of all transactions.

semantics aside it is a stored value system

Its a cryptocurrency, would be idiotically illogical to say its not a virtual currency lol.

Whats the currency built on? encryption = virtual.

I try to introduce bitcoin as "decentralized virtual money". Emphasis on decentralized and what it means, how it could make the world a better place for average people.

If I get the slightiest notion that people don't like the concept of virtual, I view it as an opportunity to explain that USD, EUR are all virtual, too. So OK, maybe the won't fall in love with bitcoin, but at least distrust of fiat currencies is sown ;)