What do you say when asked this question from a friend who has only heard its name mentioned a few times in the news and has no clue. I find myself lately taking the easy way out and suggesting google. I would prefer to give a clearer answer, but usually saying something leads to more questions and more confusion.
If someone could point me to a twitter type answer that would inform and twig their curiosity, i think it would be a better outcome.
Bitcoin was an irreversible invention, and for the first time in the digital world, it created something that was not replicable, not centralised.
Bitcoin is a currency system that is completely out of the bank and runs on the Internet. Even government law enforcement agencies cannot seize or confiscate bitcoin. Unless the Internet is completely shut down, the bitcoin network cannot be blocked. In the currency system, you can really master your money, rather than through Banks indirectly to master your money, for the first time in human history to use technical means to ensure the private property is inviolable.