How would you introduce Bitcoin to your friends and family?

[BTCevo]

The best way to do it, is to explain to them how the traditional banking system work first. {Believe me, when I say... loads of people do not know how it works}..... Start with the electronic ledger banks use, to show how much fiat everyone have.  

Then explain to them, how Bitcoin does this better and how it use a decentralized transparent ledger.

They do not need to know the details about the Open source code in the Bitcoin protocol .... just tell them, that everyone can see the code and they can change the code, but nobody would be able to use it, if there were NOT consensus between the majority of the nodes to use it.

Keep it simple.  

It depends on who are you going to explain it, if you start to explain to your family like your dad and mom about traditional banking system they will be more confused, and they will ask you a lot of questions more. This is too much for parents to go deep inside if they didnt even have a basic with protocol and things like that

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[Aggressor66]

It is hard to describe Bitcoin because it is hard to describe how money is created in general. How many people understand fractional reserves, the difference between minted money and bank generated money? We are kept in the dark about how money is created in a society, so it should be no surprise that understanding bitcoin is difficult. For something so important to our daily lives, how many people have studied these concepts in secondary school? The good news is that cryptocurrencies has opened a discussion and little by little the masses are starting to understand how money is created in a society and how this effects wealth – starting the discussion on how better this process can better serve humanity, rather than just accept it for what it is.

[planetroving]

So, I tried to introduce my friend to Bitcoin. I explained to him how it was 'magic internet money' (that's exaggerated). Blah blah blah, skip to the part where I gave him an address. The first thing he told me was "Is this spam?" I was surprised! Anyways, he's using faucets and things like that to get some starting Bitcoin. I suggested making a Bitcointalk account, and join a sig campaign to earn more, but he said no. This was because he did not know much, and wanted to learn more. So he's researching more about Bitcoin and stuff. So yeah! Just one of the funny tales of when you introduce somebody to Bitcoin and something hilarious happens. (It was funny to me)

[p.nusia]

A Sunday.

Me: Send me money today.
Them: How can I send today?
Me: Why not?
Them: Banks are closed on weekends.
Me: Not anymore.
Them: What do you mean?
Me: Let me show you. It will only take less than 15 minutes to send money to any place in the world.
Them: You are joking, uh?
Me: Nope, welcome to Bitcoin.

This is a great explanation, honestly!!! I don`t think that parents should know more in the very beginning

[CoinTop]

I would send them some bitcoins as a gift and get them up and running with there own wallet and the basics of buying and selling and trading, then leave them to buy items on using Bitcoin hopefully they will see how easy the currency can be used.

[vishwaratna]

I know people love to buy gold as a means of investment..I show my friends nude girls porn..and say them that if you wanna fuck them in future and if the rates go high then you will not be able to fuck them..and you will left with just shaking hands..so better is the time that is bitcoin..invest in bitcoin and keep making profit as bitcoin rates goes high and keep fuming girls..
Actually I can explain them in other ways also but they are always exotic so can't find a better idea than this..

[cisary]

Of course I would introduce Bitcoin to them.. actually I did and here is how:

With friends it was quite easy because I was (and still am btw) big fan of crypto in general not to mention that mining was my hobby and they knew it about me. From time to time they asked what's new and I liked to talk about what's going on. They didn't understand any technical aspect of Bitcoin though. If they didn't care I simply changed the topic of discussion and that's it.
I think they are too lazy to learn and find out what blockchain is and how it works by themselves. Not to mention that most of them don't care about politics/ central banking/ creation and distribution of money in general.. They like their credit cards and that's all - I accept it. It is important not to force them and sometimes let them think that I'm just crazy and laugh with them Bitcoin itself won't save the world for sure. But for me, it's not just about BTC/USD price and greed and I still think it's game changer. The first thing I usually tell them is that it's process and if they want to be involved they should be patient, careful and most important thing: not to expect miracles. I recommend them to use it as currency - buy and sell things/ services, learn how (and where) to trade it and simply enjoy having this "digital cash" as I like to call Bitcoin sometimes, by trying different wallets/ web services just for fun.

With colleagues - programmers it was surprisingly hard but I wanted them to be curious at least so few times I mentioned Bitcoin and when they asked about some technical details I was ready to discuss them. However some of them still don't get it at all and I honestly don't know why. Some of them think that mining is waste of electricity or that Bitcoin is just a tool for cyber criminals and/or drug addicts, noting more. I respect their opinions. Maybe when Bitcoin will be more adopted they will change them. I'm looking forward to this by the way, maybe it won't be Bitcoin (I think it will though) but it will be some other crypto currency. Decentralization is necessary and secure global crypto currency is the future no matter what imho.

With (close) family it was quite different story: I gave them small amounts of Bitcoin on paper wallets together with their christmas presents and told them that if they want to spend it they should learn how As soon as they will want to buy something with their coins I am ready to help. At first I was sad because to my surprise they didn't care even with their own paper wallets it their hands. They thought that it's just some sort of fancy certificate but now when they see that I'm still interested in crypto they became curious and want to learn more and more. We discuss crypto (not technical aspects, mostly news..) and the most important thing: now they use their paper wallets as "piggy banks" - They give me cash and I fund their wallets with BTC - small amounts of course. They don't want to install classic wallets or use online services at all because they are worried about security - This is simply because I told them some (scary) stories about mt gox/ stolen coins/ backdoors/ scams/ ponzi schemes/ hacking etc. They still think that real money should be stored in the bank but now when they (to some degree) understand how safe their paper wallets (created and printed offline with live-cd linux of course..) really are they like them.

So my advice is: Describe Bitcoin as digital cash, tell them about secure paper wallets (or cold storage in general..) Mention open source, small/no fees and decentralization (or simply tell them that it's just like torrents but for banking) Maybe they will get it right when you show them directly how easy to use Bitcoin really is. Sometimes it's even important to mention that alternative to central banking is necessary and that they can use this "money of the future" right now if they want. Sorry for my poor english - it's not my native language.

[planetroving]

Of course I would introduce Bitcoin to them.. actually I did and here is how:

With friends it was quite easy because I was (and still am btw) big fan of crypto in general not to mention that mining was my hobby and they knew it about me. From time to time they asked what's new and I liked to talk about what's going on. They didn't understand any technical aspect of Bitcoin though. If they didn't care I simply changed the topic of discussion and that's it.
I think they are too lazy to learn and find out what blockchain is and how it works by themselves. Not to mention that most of them don't care about politics/ central banking/ creation and distribution of money in general.. They like their credit cards and that's all - I accept it. It is important not to force them and sometimes let them think that I'm just crazy and laugh with them Bitcoin itself won't save the world for sure. But for me, it's not just about BTC/USD price and greed and I still think it's game changer. The first thing I usually tell them is that it's process and if they want to be involved they should be patient, careful and most important thing: not to expect miracles. I recommend them to use it as currency - buy and sell things/ services, learn how (and where) to trade it and simply enjoy having this "digital cash" as I like to call Bitcoin sometimes, by trying different wallets/ web services just for fun.

With colleagues - programmers it was surprisingly hard but I wanted them to be curious at least so few times I mentioned Bitcoin and when they asked about some technical details I was ready to discuss them. However some of them still don't get it at all and I honestly don't know why. Some of them think that mining is waste of electricity or that Bitcoin is just a tool for cyber criminals and/or drug addicts, noting more. I respect their opinions. Maybe when Bitcoin will be more adopted they will change them. I'm looking forward to this by the way, maybe it won't be Bitcoin (I think it will though) but it will be some other crypto currency. Decentralization is necessary and secure global crypto currency is the future no matter what imho.

With (close) family it was quite different story: I gave them small amounts of Bitcoin on paper wallets together with their christmas presents and told them that if they want to spend it they should learn how As soon as they will want to buy something with their coins I am ready to help. At first I was sad because to my surprise they didn't care even with their own paper wallets it their hands. They thought that it's just some sort of fancy certificate but now when they see that I'm still interested in crypto they became curious and want to learn more and more. We discuss crypto (not technical aspects, mostly news..) and the most important thing: now they use their paper wallets as "piggy banks" - They give me cash and I fund their wallets with BTC - small amounts of course. They don't want to install classic wallets or use online services at all because they are worried about security - This is simply because I told them some (scary) stories about mt gox/ stolen coins/ backdoors/ scams/ ponzi schemes/ hacking etc. They still think that real money should be stored in the bank but now when they (to some degree) understand how safe their paper wallets (created and printed offline with live-cd linux of course..) really are they like them.

So my advice is: Describe Bitcoin as digital cash, tell them about secure paper wallets (or cold storage in general..) Mention open source, small/no fees and decentralization (or simply tell them that it's just like torrents but for banking) Maybe they will get it right when you show them directly how easy to use Bitcoin really is. Sometimes it's even important to mention that alternative to central banking is necessary and that they can use this "money of the future" right now if they want. Sorry for my poor english - it's not my native language.

Wow! That was a very detailed post! Don't worry, I understood your post just fine. Your English isn't poor at all.

Thanks for mentioning the word 'future'. I think it might be one of the key words in defining Bitcoin, other than decentralized, open source, cryptocurrency and that stuff. I totally forgot about how Bitcoin is the future of how sending money to and from one another.

[Mayuyu48]

for my experience, best way to introduce bitcoin is using mobile wallet like mycellium mobile wallet
ask your friend to install it and create wallet, and try to send small amount of bitcoin to your friends for testing.
and explain how bitcoin transaction works in easy language we can send money to other people in other place in the world, with small fee and fast transaction, etc...
It's better if you purchase some digital goods from website/merchant which accept bitcoin as payment, try to buy it while at the same time you explain how it works with your friends. If the transaction is success, high possibility your friends will interested with bitcoin and find more information about bitcoin
Another way, tell how easy to make money with bitcoin.If your friends interested making money online, he will learn about bitcoin

[Furio]

Well, title say all to be honest. How would you introduce them to Bitcoin? Let's say they don't exactly have the technical know-how. I've been with Bitcoin for a while, but still don't understand it fully either, so this will help me as well along the way.
Thank you

Physical Bitcoin helped me sell the concept of bitcoin to my environment. It seems that people can't imagine the value, unless they see something physical and shiny Just my 2 cents My experience is not to get to technicall, you'll see them drift away once you start talking about the blockchain and such

[freemind1]

Explaining how it works, teaching them how to send and receive money, explaining to them the benefits of being your own bank, sending them some Satoshis to begin to try, this is how I do it. Although there are many more things to do.

[chmod755]

I told my family about Bitcoin a long time ago, but I'm not putting any pressure on them. I'm keeping them updated on Bitcoin events and what I'm doing with it tho.

I'm not giving away coins for free, because they are valuable to me and I think they'd just have no idea what to do with them.

I once ordered pizza with Bitcoin when I visited my brother  - especially his girlfriend was very impressed.

[Anirban Sarkar]

Yeah it a good idea to introduce our friends who are not using bitcoin and making them realize the usefullness of it. It is a very good way of earning and it is going to have a bright future so all must be related to it !!!

[LFC_Bitcoin]

Tell them about bitcoin & how important it may be in the future.
I got my younger brother involved by just telling him all about it.

He now buys & HODL's just like me

[1Referee]

I have told them about the main advantages compared to traditional payment solutions. They send money from time to time with PayPal and some times with Western Union.

They have used Bitcoin a while ago and they like it, but the reason for them to not keep using it is the volatility. Which I can understand.

[darkangel11]

I have told them about the main advantages compared to traditional payment solutions. They send money from time to time with PayPal and some times with Western Union.

They have used Bitcoin a while ago and they like it, but the reason for them to not keep using it is the volatility. Which I can understand.

Tell them volatility works both ways. They can wake up the next day and be able to buy more with their coins. This feature isn't that bad and doesn't discourage people from using Bitcoin instead of Western Union for example. What discourages people is that to get fiat they have to go to a private exchange and deposit their money hoping they won't get robbed or run with it.

[Icardi09]

I'll compare it with more mainstream payment processor like paypal & western union and tell advantage of bitcoin over those payment processor. Give an example is better explanation for new user

[randy8777]

most of my family members are non tech people who are not really interested in it. they say why do i need to buy bitcoin in order to buy something with it if i can buy anything with fiat right now.

[Pecunia non olet]

Well, title say all to be honest. How would you introduce them to Bitcoin? Let's say they don't exactly have the technical know-how. I've been with Bitcoin for a while, but still don't understand it fully either, so this will help me as well along the way.
Thank you

You try to tell them once but normally they will ...
-think it's a joke and not "real money"
-not understand it
-not be interested in it
-be very sceptical
-suspect you are doing something illegal
-come to you and ask for money once the price is up



so, no, you're not talking to people about it normally.

[1Referee]

I have told them about the main advantages compared to traditional payment solutions. They send money from time to time with PayPal and some times with Western Union.

They have used Bitcoin a while ago and they like it, but the reason for them to not keep using it is the volatility. Which I can understand.

Tell them volatility works both ways. They can wake up the next day and be able to buy more with their coins. This feature isn't that bad and doesn't discourage people from using Bitcoin instead of Western Union for example. What discourages people is that to get fiat they have to go to a private exchange and deposit their money hoping they won't get robbed or run with it.

Volatility might be a good opportunity for us to make profit, but not everyone is thinking like that. Normal people want to pay and get paid without having to worry about fluctuations.