How would you explain bitcoin to someone?

[ReelsFan156]

Interesting question. I usually say this: Try it once, and you'll understand everything immediately. 

Because Bitcoin is hard to explain with words alone. It's like the internet of the 90s. You can talk about it for ages, but until you send your first email or visit a website, you won't feel the magic.

Crypto is yours alone, and that's what matters. BTC

[serjent05]

Interesting question. I usually say this: Try it once, and you'll understand everything immediately. 

Because Bitcoin is hard to explain with words alone. It's like the internet of the 90s. You can talk about it for ages, but until you send your first email or visit a website, you won't feel the magic.

Crypto is yours alone, and that's what matters. BTC

Bitcoin is not as trying it once and we understand everything. Understanding bitcoin is not as easy like that. Bitcoin is somehow a complex stuff because it covers many thing, From technolofy to economics so Bitcoin needs a deeper understanding.

So simply saying try it and one can understand is somehow misleading, we still need a deeper understanding too safely engage with Bitcoin

[Findingnemo]

Well, such a rookie question but I am looking for some new ideas to explain about bitcoin and why they should have bitcoin in the simplest way possible, because 90% of them will not be interested in learning the whitepaper if they don't get the concept of decentralization and how central banks are ripping the people with money printers.

So no need to talk about price and share any technical source, just plain and simple, how would you explain Bitcoin to someone briefly?

My strategy has long since changed in terms of explaining what Bitcoin is to anyone, because you have to remember that by showing extensive knowledge about it, you attract the attention of bad people who assume that you own it. Furthermore, anyone who knows how to use a computer and has access to the internet can find all the necessary information, whether it is video or textual content.

Unfortunately, there is no help for those who, despite all the information, are still groping in the dark - I know people who couldn't understand what Bitcoin was 10 years ago, and they still don't understand it today. The result of wanting to help someone can be wasting time, putting yourself in danger and ultimately financial loss for those who decided to invest in Bitcoin because of our advice.

This isn't for anyone, especially not for my bloodline but we know right there are people from closed circle will get what I did on my own but I am really bad at explaining things, that's why the idea would be helpful. As I said, this thread came up when I was explaining bitcoin, not really the bitcoin but why we need an alternative to the rigged money system and she got really hooked and the conversation went for almost 2 hours starting from barter system to the Epstein files.

[lizarder]

Bitcoin is not as trying it once and we understand everything. Understanding bitcoin is not as easy like that. Bitcoin is somehow a complex stuff because it covers many thing, From technolofy to economics so Bitcoin needs a deeper understanding.

So simply saying try it and one can understand is somehow misleading, we still need a deeper understanding too safely engage with Bitcoin 

Many people fail to understand Bitcoin's trajectory without proper knowledge, especially those who invest solely because of hype. Bitcoin's significant price surges and conversely, its rapid declines can lead to people failing to understand its trajectory without proper knowledge. Not everyone is prepared for these consequences as most people readily accept profits from their investments, but when they experience losses, they can't survive due to excessive panic.

This is why knowledge is essential when investing, allowing them to remain calm under any circumstances and avoid making decisions that could be detrimental to themselves. I've seen firsthand how someone failed to understand Bitcoin investments due to the sharp declines in Bitcoin's trajectory and this should be a fundamental consideration before investing directly.

[HONDACD125]

Interesting question. I usually say this: Try it once, and you'll understand everything immediately. 

Because Bitcoin is hard to explain with words alone. It's like the internet of the 90s. You can talk about it for ages, but until you send your first email or visit a website, you won't feel the magic.

Crypto is yours alone, and that's what matters. BTC

But how would someone try it if they know nothing about it, literally? It's like someone asking you how to play an instrument that you know about and tell them to try it once, and they will understand everything. That's not a proper answer to any question, be it about Bitcoin or anything else. Even if you don't want to provide them with any information or detail yourself, you can at least refer them to somewhere where they can find more information about it, and tell them that they should go there and learn about it.

I would never recommend people making investments at the initial stage if they ask me about Bitcoin, I will try my best to tell them as much as I can about both positive and negative aspects of it, and then I will ask them to do their own research first before they make any financial decisions so that they don't face losses and then blame me for it. I have experienced this thing in the past so I know that recommendations when it comes to such things are always a bad thing because you don't know how people will do, so if they profit, they will be happy, but if they lose money, they will blame you for referring them to that thing, and believe me, you wouldn't want to be in that position ever.

[ejikeme24]

Interesting question. I usually say this: Try it once, and you'll understand everything immediately. 

Because Bitcoin is hard to explain with words alone. It's like the internet of the 90s. You can talk about it for ages, but until you send your first email or visit a website, you won't feel the magic.

Crypto is yours alone, and that's what matters. BTC

Yes, but before asking them to give it a try you need to ensure that they have gotten the basic knowledge because you can't possibly ask a beginner to invest and see for themselves when they are yet to get the basic knowledge, what if they encounter dip in the process how did you think they will react? No matter how discipline a guy is if they go into Bitcoin investment with zero knowledge they would definitely feel pressured and some can decide to sell immediately while some might be Strong enough to keeping HODLin until they regain their capital, and once they regained their Capital they will sell without even minding if they are in profit after that they will mark it as their end. so beginners need to know about the volatile nature of Bitcoin even though they will need to try by themselves at least they should understand that Bitcoin is a volatile asset as this will help them ease some pressure.

[CryptoVoyager24]

Dont even bother. Tried with family once. Worst idea. They buyw some random token, lose the password, and call you to fix it. No thanks. I just tell everyone i do boring IT stuff now.

[Lucius]

Dont even bother. Tried with family once. Worst idea. They buyw some random token, lose the password, and call you to fix it. No thanks. I just tell everyone i do boring IT stuff now.

I was in a similar situation a long time ago, someone bought BTC, lost it and then I paid the price because I didn't want to spend my whole life listening to it being my fault that someone lost money. As for the real world, I sold everything I had a long time ago - the best thing I ever did and I regret not doing it sooner.

[Nothingtodo]

If I am given the opportunity to explain Bitcoin to someone, I will definitely tell you the difference between Bitcoin and a central bank. Where Bitcoin is not controlled by a third party, while banks are controlled by a third party. When you keep money in a bank, the value of that money starts decreasing over time due to inflation, but Bitcoin is not controlled by inflation. Moreover, paper money can be printed by the government at any time and released into the market, but the supply of Bitcoin is limited, it is not controlled by any government or any person, due to which there is no way to print it, i.e. its supply is limited to twenty-one million. Again, you can use Bitcoin from any part of the world at any time and make transactions, but if you keep money in a bank, you cannot withdraw that money at any time, for this reason you will need the permission of the bank authorities. This is the best tool to explain Bitcoin to someone.

[Faisal2202]

I have tried to teach it to many, like my siblings, my friends, and my relatives. And every time I started with blockchain technology, I will not mention the reason, but only how I teach them. I tell them what is blockchain and then I talk about cryptocurrency market. What is bitcoin and altcoins and what is dominance and what is four year cycle and who created bitcoin. What is mining and how new bitcoins came into being.

What is total supply and circulating supply and where we can see the current price of bitcoin. What are coin trackers and how to use them for better understanding. What is centralization and decetralization and why bitcoin was created and so far how many countries have adopted and also I need to tell them what is ETF so they would know the current developments from the start and could decide if it is for them.

Mostly ask how they can earn money from bitcoin so that is another question and I tackle it with different answers everytime because I judge the person and then give them the asnwer.

[Gost ms]

At present, there is no time to explain Bitcoin in an easy way. Because at present, everyone is gradually moving towards Bitcoin and investing in Bitcoin. It is very difficult to explain Bitcoin in an easy way to a person who is not aware of Bitcoin and they can understand the opposite sides of Bitcoin. We can understand a person very easily through Bitcoin and banks. For example, banks can print money as they want, but Bitcoin can never be mined too much. Bitcoin is not under anyone's control, the Bitcoin network is very strong, after that we can give some idea about the Bitcoin network to him.

[MusaPk]

I was in a similar situation a long time ago, someone bought BTC, lost it and then I paid the price because I didn't want to spend my whole life listening to it being my fault that someone lost money. As for the real world, I sold everything I had a long time ago - the best thing I ever did and I regret not doing it sooner.

That's also one reason why I never approach people and try to teach them about Bitcoin because if someone invest in Bitcoin on your advice then he held you responsible in case he bear some loss. Bitcoin is very risky and there is fair chance that a newcomer will see his investment going down. Those who understand Bitcoin knows that bitcoin price goes down and recover with passage of time but newcomers have to learn that thing. Just keep you ideas and knowledge to yourself and give them to people only if they ask.     

[Bastketsrus]

You can send money anywhere in the world 24/7 without relying on banks. On top of that, you pay very low fees. You also have an advantage that no government currency has, your money doesn't lose value as inflation rises in your country.
If you store your coins properly, governments can't claim your money or seize it without a reason. Even if your wealth is very large, you can carry it with you anywhere in the world. You're not affected by ridiculous customs rules.

There's no need to reinvent the wheel. These points are enough to summarize Bitcoin for someone new to it.

Yeah, that’s a nice simple way to explain Bitcoin to newcomers. The basic benefits like control over your money and easy global transfers are enough to spark interest and help people understand the idea quickly.

[Hypnosis00]

Bitcoin is a digital currency, as well as a store of value that continue to increase in time, especially if you prioritize holding it for long term.

While it is originally created as a currency to gain financial freedom from using banks and government, but for now, bitcoin is more widely used as an investment tool because of its high potentials to achieve profitable gains in the near future.

So its not surprising why people do often hear bitcoin as an investment, rather than a currency that can co-perform with fiat.

[GeorgeJohn]

At present, there is no time to explain Bitcoin in an easy way. Because at present, everyone is gradually moving towards Bitcoin and investing in Bitcoin.

i knew bitcoin in 2015 through a ponzi scheme, during that period many people weren't aware of Bitcoin, i was among of the individuals canvassing people about Bitcoin, when i have not known bitcoin, currently bitcoin has gotten dominance through help of Internet..so such canvassing can not longer take place because of the awareness of bitcoin has gotten to the grassroots..

It is very difficult to explain Bitcoin in an easy way to a person who is not aware of Bitcoin and they can understand the opposite sides of Bitcoin.

Most of the people who is investing in bitcoin today weren't aware of Bitcoin, but due they're been convinced through their research about bitcoin, and that is how they started investing in bitcoin...

[Queen uloma]

If I'm to tell someone about Bitcoin I will make sure that I explain to them how bitcoin works when it comes to volitality, I will tell them that Bitcoin is very wise and fall sometimes and so if they are investing in Bitcoin and they decide to hold for a very long time they should not be scared when Bitcoin fall in price they should use the opportunity to accumulate more Bitcoin they should not be complaining and I will also explain to them that when you are investing in Bitcoin they need to be patient because it takes long to benefit from Bitcoin investment, I will also explain to them about bitcoin trading I will tell them the advantage and disadvantage of Bitcoin trading and leave them to decide if they want to involve themselves in Bitcoin trading or long time investment.

[Awaklara]

how would you explain Bitcoin to someone briefly?

When someone asks me about Bitcoin, I always answer that Bitcoin is a digital currency. It's money that you control yourself, no need for a bank to store it. It can be used for transactions as an alternative to fiat currency. 
But for most of the people I meet, their interest in Bitcoin is related to investment or trading. So when it comes to using Bitcoin as an alternative transaction tool to replace fiat, most people are either not very aware of it or not interested in it.

[LogitechMouse]

Well, such a rookie question but I am looking for some new ideas to explain about bitcoin and why they should have bitcoin in the simplest way possible, because 90% of them will not be interested in learning the whitepaper if they don't get the concept of decentralization and how central banks are ripping the people with money printers.

So no need to talk about price and share any technical source, just plain and simple, how would you explain Bitcoin to someone briefly?

I'll just let the internet do the talking.

It already came to a point where for me, I don't need to talk anymore and teach somebody the basics of Bitcoin because TBH, there are many sources of information online already. We have YouTube to teach the basics, this forum for some to share their own knowledge about Bitcoin as well, at the same time we have LLMs like ChatGPT and Gemini where they can just answer any Bitcoin-related questions that you throw to them. There are many sources of information online already that we don't need to talk anymore. I know that it's different if it's a person teaching Vs. something that you only read online, but if you're not good at teaching and they asked you something about Bitcoin then you just let the internet do the talking. Just provide the links, and let them research it.

I'm not a good teacher, but if you want to teach Bitcoin in the simplest way possible, I think asking ChatGPT or Gemini will help you provide some tips and tricks on how to make it simple yet understandable for newbies.

[Alonso_]

Dont even bother. Tried with family once. Worst idea. They buyw some random token, lose the password, and call you to fix it. No thanks. I just tell everyone i do boring IT stuff now.

Yes, There are things you absolutely don’t have to bother yourself about anything, considering that you have been investing and you know things about Bitcoin and someone else is requesting to learn about Bitcoin I can possibly teach the individual that is interested to learn,  but if it’s someone that isn’t interested there is nothing I can do about it to teach them, but I still don’t understand how someone would leave buying Bitcoin and decides to buy tokens or other cryptocurrencies that doesn’t have any guarantee and no assurance.

But I don’t really see anything wrong with a family member who wants to learn, I will gladly teach that family members so they can also learn and invest in Bitcoin, because Bitcoin is an asset that we should be investing our money or discretionary money.