Shower thought. Why is Bitcoin hard to define?

[minersday]

First and foremost, Bitcoin is not hard to define. Bitcoin is an alternative form of fiat which is a digital currency that operates on a decentralized peer to peer system  known as the blockchain network. The reason why people find it difficult in either defining or explaining what bitcoin is for people to understand is due to the fact that most people define bitcoin in a form of comparing its system to that of the bank. Just tell people that bitcoin is an alternative form of cash with no limitation when making transactions with it.  

[Ucy]

I'd like to call it the People's Currency or Community Owned Currency. This would make more sense to people you are trying to explain it to. And they will most likely relate with it more

Explaining the technical terms (like decentralized, immutable, uncensorable and deflationary  currency) should follow when they need more information or aak for the advantages of Bitcoin

[BitHodler]

I'd like to call it the People's Currency or Community Owned Currency. This would make more sense to people you are trying to explain it to. And they will most likely relate with it more

I like the term 'people's currency' because that's what Bitcoin actually is. The term 'community owned currency' is something that refers to a smaller group of people, or even a cult.

Explaining the technical terms (like decentralized, immutable, uncensorable and deflationary  currency) should follow when they need more information or aak for the advantages of Bitcoin

Spot on. New crypto participant's main incentive for entering is related to the price anyway, so the last thing they are interested in at that stage is people throwing around with terms they never heard of or thought to care about.

Keeping it simple does the trick. Lets be honest here, we all have been a newbie at one point, and we surely couldn't care less about the technicals as long as the price kept pumping.

[Hamphser]

A non-Bitcoiner friend asked me, "What is Bitcoin?", I was unable to answer directly as my mind was racing to find an answer. My first instinct was to tell him that it was a "peer to peer digital ecash for the internet", but should something global, trustless, provably scarce, independent, open, and censorship-resistant be described as something so shallow?

Bitcoin is much more, but it's very hard to find the words to describe it.

Your first answer would really be enough and that 2nd thought is just a common opinion afterwards of people who do know exactly on what is bitcoin.
For people who do just tend to learn up about bitcoin then that simple explanation at first would already be enough.Not too technical to understand and besides
when giving out explanation you should give also some sites as reference.

[jpnl0008]

i do not see any difficulty in the definition of bitcoin as it is the culture of definition, simply get terminologies and also a common environmental applicable example that can best explain what the bitcoin is and that becomes your own customized definition. bitcoin is simply a digital currency system of peer to peer irreversible exchange of coins/money in real time with an immutable ledger system that keeps record of all the details of that transaction.

[Karamabit_209]

Are you to a non bitcoiner? Because it seems like you are one. It is actually easy to define bitcoin, it is a digital currency, or cryptocurrency. Tell him that it is a currency but a digital one. Like the typical currency, you can use your bitcoin to buy things, you can even use it to play on gaming sites that I personally do when I'm bored so I am entertain. You can even exchange bitcoin to other cryptocurrencies like to the typical currency. You can also invest it.

[Finestream]

Are you to a non bitcoiner? Because it seems like you are one. It is actually easy to define bitcoin, it is a digital currency, or cryptocurrency. Tell him that it is a currency but a digital one. Like the typical currency, you can use your bitcoin to buy things, you can even use it to play on gaming sites that I personally do when I'm bored so I am entertain. You can even exchange bitcoin to other cryptocurrencies like to the typical currency. You can also invest it.

Right.You just simply tell him that bitcoin is a digital currency.It might not be adopted in most countries for now but soon it will because it has a lot of potentials that will surely help and rises the country's economy.It may also be a great investment that can give us huge profits particularly if you keep holding it for a long time.

[Wind_FURY]

Bump.

I believe it might be better to stop defining Bitcoin as "money", and start thinking about it as a "ledger based on cryptographic proof, not based on trust"?

With that definition, would franky1 be right that Bitcoin should be a medium of exchange more, than a store of value?

Shower thought.

[figmentofmyass]

Bump.

I believe it might be better to stop defining Bitcoin as "money", and start thinking about it as a "ledger based on cryptographic proof, not based on trust"?

that definition doesn't make bitcoin not money. if people use it as money, then that's what it is. it's up to the market.

besides, i think it's important to convey that bitcoin isn't merely numbers on a screen. it's not created out of thin air. it has a distinct monetary policy, and is naturally a hard money because of its limited supply. the cryptography underlying bitcoin is not the whole story---the economic design is vital to making it work. the economic design is what makes it money.

With that definition, would franky1 be right that Bitcoin should be a medium of exchange more, than a store of value?

bitcoin shouldn't be anything. it just is.