[1 BTC Bounty] What is Bitcoin? *ENDED*

[Stunna]

Hey all,

I get asked often what Bitcoin is and I find it really difficult to give a concise answer . I'd love a great one line reply to get people interested and wanting to know more. Looking for something short and direct that still manages to convey enough information.

I'd look favorably towards any creative answers. This includes any sort of illustration/art, post a short description to go with it.

Will announce the winner in 2 weeks from now. No need to leave your address, I'll just message you if you win and announce it on this thread

Good luck and Thanks!

-Stunna

EDIT: Winner selected!  PM sent,

Winner Paid
 

To a techie:  Bitcoin is Money Over Internet Protocol

To an economist:  Bitcoin is irreversible, ultrasecure, mathematical cowry shells

To an entrepreneur:  Bitcoin is digital money Lego--you can use it to build anything

To grandma:  Bitcoin is money that you can send like email

To a merchant:  Bitcoin is no service fees, no specialised hardware, and no chargebacks

To a first generation immigrant:  Bitcoin is 90% off Western Union fees for everyone

To Joe Everyman:  Bitcoin is a 5% discount on online shopping

To your great-grandchild:  Dollar bills were how people paid for things before we had Bitcoin

Congratulations to our much deserved winner!

[1715448587]

1715448587

[1715448587]

1715448587

[1715448587]

1715448587

[kuriboh]

To everyone who ask me this, I share this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um63OQz3bjo

[hasher87]

Bitcoin, this is heavy

[Ares]

Bitcoin is a new technology and digital currency that does to money what email did to regular mail; makes it free, easier, faster, and safer to spend/move and also cannot be subject to government or other corruption and inflation because it is decentralized and deflationary by design.

[Chet]

Bitcoin is the future, of money. What the car was to the horse and buggy.

[The Bitcoin Catalog]

http://thebitcoincatalog.com/what-is-bitcoin/

[ashaw596]

Bitcoin is an decentralized electronic currency. Like all currencies, it is given value because people perceive it to have value and are willing to exchange things for it (like those numbers in the bank's computers or those pieces of paper you have). It is different in that it is all electronic and based on a decentralized peer to peer network that keep track of all transactions on a public ledger called the blockchain and allows people to freely hold, spend, and send money to anyone in the world without need to go through banks or government institutions.

[odolvlobo]

Bitcoin is a payment system. A person can send bitcoins to anyone anywhere and at any time directly without having to go through any company or organization. It is similar to other online payment systems except that it is completely operated and maintained by its users. It also has its own currency.


Most people think that Bitcoin is just a currency because that's all they ever read about. But, the payment system is far more important than the currency.

[TheButterZone]

Bitcoin is yours, 100% of it, no compromise.

[rudrigorc2]

Bitcoin is nature taking over man.

[TippingPoint]

Bitcoin is something that everyone wishes that they thought of first.

[freedomno1]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-30/bitcoin-the-perfect-schmuck-insurance.html
Bitcoin has unique strings that represent money and a mechanism to send these strings securely and safely wherever you want.  -- in an orderly, predictable way.

There is a famous scene in the Matrix where Morpheus asks Neo if he wants to take the blue pill and go back to life as he knows it or take the red pill and see life as it is. Neo takes the red pill and begins a period of exploration about humanity, hierarchy, rules, etc. Bitcoin is a red pill. There will be some bad and awkward moments, but lots of good, useful and powerful things will also ensue. It will reallocate financial strength and power to the people versus keeping it within a few centralized authorities.

[agnostic98]

The catalyst for true globalization

[haveagr8day]

Bitcoin is a math based currency that is not controlled by any central authority, but rather by all of those who use it. It is useful for having no/low fees, having the ability to be anonymous, and to be able to be transacted around the world.

[Jaden]

For some people, I think the stumbling block in understanding Bitcoin is due to their lack of experience with unstable currencies. I'm originally from Argentina where the government has replaced the currency multiple times. You learn very quickly that those pieces of paper you have in your wallet are nothing more than paper if everyone doesn't believe in it.

With that said, how do I handle explaining Bitcoin? I say that "Bitcoin is an electronic currency that is not governed by a central authority. There is no physical form, but you can use it to buy goods and services just like using your credit card." Then I'll get the usual question of what makes it valuable and I'll respond "Well, tell me what makes the US Dollar valuable?" They'll usually make the mistake of saying it's backed by gold or the government, but in the end we land on that it's valuable because we all think it is. Same thing with Bitcoin. They usually get it then.

[jaywaka2713]

Bitcoin is a digital asset that you can use to transfer funds to anybody. With Bitcoin, your money is really yours. Nobody can take it, tax it, or withdraw it without you doing it manually. Only you can send payments. Your transactions are verified by the network, which is a very large group of people contributing to a peer to peer connection system through a process nicknamed "mining". Mining not only keeps the network secure, but allows Bitcoin to be inflated at a stable pace using a factor called difficulty, which is provided through encryption. Bitcoin uses SHA-256 as its encryption medium. Bitcoin is essentially, a model of how banking should work.

[dwdoc]

I explained it to a physician friend like this:

Imagine if everyone agreed that each prime number was worth $100 and that you could buy and sell each known one and/or use a computer to discover new ones and that a jointly owned computer program tracked the location of each one.

[BorderBits]

Imagine 21 million butts juicily farting incessantly in your face -- Bitcoin!

[eMansipater]

To a techie:  Bitcoin is Money Over Internet Protocol

To an economist:  Bitcoin is irreversible, ultrasecure, mathematical cowry shells

To an entrepreneur:  Bitcoin is digital money Lego--you can use it to build anything

To grandma:  Bitcoin is money that you can send like email

To a merchant:  Bitcoin is no service fees, no specialised hardware, and no chargebacks

To a first generation immigrant:  Bitcoin is 90% off Western Union fees for everyone

To Joe Everyman:  Bitcoin is a 5% discount on online shopping

To your great-grandchild:  Dollar bills were how people paid for things before we had Bitcoin

[counter]

A scientifically based and mathematically proven currency system, put in place by atleast one of the worlds greatest minds of today.

And if u'd like to add.
  Addressing banking problems that have arose continuously throughout the history of the greatest societies, putting the control in the hands of the individual instead of a central authority.

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