How could I explain easily to someone that know nothing about Bitcoin what it is ?

[mtnsaa]

What's wrong with saying its like Paypal? You could start with "it is a payment system with its own currency".

Lol, it's nothing like Paypal. I don't understand many here still spreading information like this. Bitcoin is very complex to explain and to use for the common person. That's why there are so few women using it and I'm not saying that in a bad way, WAF is crucial for many products and services. Consider authorization keys, wallets, addresses as long as lines of code, brain passwords, decimals, dear god...and for what?

I'm thinking this not from our point of view, we understand the potential of it, but it's far for being something that will be massively adopted, just like the internet was in the 90s. That doesn't mean it doesn't have value or it's not a huge innovative idea.

[PakistanHockeyfan]

Just tell them it's stocks. Very simple.

[smiletyson]

Just tell them it's stocks. Very simple.

Bitcoin is nothing like stocks. It's really really far away.

[franky1]

Start with the important and basic stuff :

• 1.Instant Transactions with zero/low fees
• 2.Decentralized system
• 3.It's annonymus
• 4.Your account can't be limited , frozen
• 5.You have full control over your money

Then make him watch this video which almost every bitcoiner saw it before : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gc2en3nHxA4

1. fees are 4.2cents(or more), with a 10 minute (atleast) confirmation.. the recipient is not allowed to spend funds before that as its not settled..
talking about unconfirmed transactions is much like saying it takes 0.1 seconds to hand someone a duff cheque that wont clear.. or takes 10 minutes-1 hour to clear.. and if you want to do a free transaction expect to wait over an hour in many cases..
so atleast be honest to people

2. agreed

3. its about as anonymous as cash. eg if the person receiving it knows your name/face then its less anonymous, so dont publish secret addresses publicly on forums if you want complete anonymity

4. your 'private holdings' cant be limited/frozen, much like having csh under your mattress.. as saying account, people naively beleive that coinbase/mtgox or other account services cant freeze you out

5. as long as you keep control and not hand it to third party services to manage for you.

its best to not paint a pretty picture of the dream, but give people thee fine details of the reality..

[franky1]

best analogy i have found is that bitcoin is like a cheque.

it contains the details of originating funds, destination and amount

without you handing over the cheque (transaction) with your own unique signature, funds cannot move.

people can try copying your chequebook, but without your unique signature.. its useless.. and thats where the part of the beauty of bitcoin comes in..

the signature is not standard. its unique to each cheque as its formed using the details of that individual cheque.
the cheque does not reveal how that unique signature was created as that is a private passphase(key) only you know...but has a method to atleast confirm its a valid signature from the owner of the original funds using a secondary public passphrase(key)

there are thousands of independent workers co-operating to validate and settle that cheque to ensure the recipient can spend the funds 10minutes+

some people can accept it on face value, as they can instantly check the balance and instantly check the signature of your original funds using the public key... or wait for confirmation to ensure its fully settled (incase they presume you handed another cheque for the same amount to someone else at the same time). which if you want to ensure its confirmed/settled within 10 minutes then you should pay atleast 4cents to get first class treatment

the private key is where the funds have ultimate control.. so keep it safe. the public key is the identifier where people can pay you, prove you have funds available and see the signature is valid.

think of it a bit like paypal.. the username is the public key, that people can pay you... and the password is the private key that allows you access to the funds to pay other people.. without the password, your lost.. there is no central party that can give you a password reminder..

there are services that can manage funds for you, if you move about and dont keep copies of your private key handy... this is done by simply paying them, they use their private keys because the funds are then in their hands, but under your requests.. but it is not recommended to use these for large amounts at the moment as legislation to protect your consumer rights is not fully established with these services. bitcoin works best if you keep your funds in your own control..

[btcdevil]

Start with the important and basic stuff :

• Instant Transactions with zero/low fees
• Decentralized system
• It's annonymus
• Your account can't be limited , frozen
• You have full control over your money

Then make him watch this video which almost every bitcoiner saw it before : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gc2en3nHxA4

I think this reply will give you full details about what is bitcoin and what are their functions, if you can understand by this way , then you can make others also understand what is bitcoin by this way if you start to explain them. the way above reply has given .

really it is very good answer you gave to explain what is bitcoin and how to explain others about the details of bitcoin.

[cellard]

What's wrong with saying its like Paypal? You could start with "it is a payment system with its own currency".

Yep, the problem is that whenever you point to such analogy "it's like paypal but with it's own currency" they will ask "why do I need another currency? I have the dollar (or the Euro or whatever you've got in your country). Unless you live in a country with a really screwed up national currency, chances are they aren't bright enough to see the point.

[calkob]

Most of the people i tell about are hooked after i tell them it don't require the need for Banksters...... 

[btcprospecter]

I just explain it as a digital form of currency. I wouldn't go into too much detail about the blockchain and all that just keep it simple. No different from real money really we use credit debit cards all the time is that money real?

[CreativeCarol]

You could tell them to do personal research on the matter.

[Kprawn]

It depends on the audience in my opinion... I always try to determine their level of knowledge on general financial topics, before I pitch Bitcoin to them. If they know how the

banking system work, it might be easier to pitch it to them... but if they have no clue about that... you might have to start there and explain it first. The advantages of Bitcoin

becomes clear, if you understand the centralized fiat system first. Good luck... it's difficult with all the fud being spread about it. 

[Erkallys]

You could tell them to do personal research on the matter.

I don't think they will. They will ask you to tell them what it is, but if you persist by not giving them any info, I think they'll lose any potential interest and they may even forgot to do some research. They may also find non-attractive info on Bitcoin and thus don't be interested by it.

[target]

How could I explain what Bitcoin is to someone that don't know about Bitcoin at all nor about computers in general ? The only way I have now is to say it's like PayPal but I don't like it that much . Anyone has an idea ?

Don't bother if they aren't online every now and then.

if they are online from time to time, give them some youtube links and this forum.

[enhu]

Tell them its what online people use these days to buy stuff on shopping sites and that bitcoin is the future money so they better get into it else they'd be left behind lol.
Tell them bitcoin is going to be more valuable later said by the men of the future.

So if they want to get their life easier while also investing, let them sign up for an online wallet for now, maybe blockchain and send them few coins to start with.

[johnyj]

Show your Ferrari 

[WhatTheGox]

How could I explain what Bitcoin is to someone that don't know about Bitcoin at all nor about computers in general ? The only way I have now is to say it's like PayPal but I don't like it that much . Anyone has an idea ?

I would just ask them stuff like where do they think the money they use right now comes from and how it gets its value, who decides that etc.  Once you get past that step then you can tell them about new designs of money creation.

[electronicash]

these stuff won't work for someone who isn't a close friend

[LiteCoinGuy]

try this. from easy to more complicated  

1. Internet Money

2. A nework for payments

3. A network for sending assets of any kind

4. ...

[ivanst776]

Firstly you should explain to them how online transactions work, how e-banking from your local bank works.
After he understands how digital money works you should easily tell him what bitcoin is, what kind of digital (virtual/ cryptocurrency) is bitcoin, and then explain how it works, something about the network then about wallets and so on.

[knightkon]

It is called a wallet for a reason.  The only difference between the wallet in their pocket or purse is that this wallet is stored on a computer or on a virtual server where they can access it online whenever they want.  All it does is store money.  It is that simple.