How would you explain bitcoin to someone?

[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?

[Iranus]

Very simple, I would never scare anyone off at the beginning by arguing too much.

Bitcoin is basically digital money you control yourself. No bank or government in the middle.
You own your own saving  and can send money straight to anyone, anywhere.
Over time it protect your value better than cash, which can be printed and lose worth.

If he were even minimally sensible he would understand with just a few word.

[Dictator69]

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 will give them idea on how their banks are using their money without any consent and making profit, while their money is making them all that profit and they are earning nothing or earning too low. Their money is in the hands of banks and in my country there are few banks that make people regret opening accounts in them, they block the access every month if not then I have read there are some banks that restrict your accounts when they come to know you have done some crypto related transaction like made p2p.

I can easily convince my family and friends who are not into crypto but their minds are into something else, they prefer to buy gold but if I will give them broader introduction of how bitcoin can be the next digital gold they might think of it and make some investment, but I will never convince anyone to invest but I don't miss a chance to explain someone what is bitcoin.

[promise444c5]

Seriously, I stop introducing or even letting anyone know I’m into Bitcoin lately.. I just feel like  I’m exposing myself more but I have friends who are into crypto generally so I always try to convince them on why Bitcoin is a better choice. Although, i do see  random people reach out on how they could get into Bitcoin which I will be glad to explain in my little knowledge without exposing my identity .


I think this thread from d500 should have some of the infos that might be helpful for that..

[legiteum]

Here's the definition I use, which is from the technical/architectural viewpoint:

Bitcoin is a digital currency that was created around 2010 when digital currencies in the internet were effectively illegal. Because of that, it had to use a very slow and complicated system that allowed it to evade the prosecution it would have suffered had it used a more conventional and efficient architecture. Today, digital currencies are effectively legal everywhere, so there is no longer a reason to have an architecture designed to evade prosecution. This is similar to the evolution from Napster to modern services like Spotify and Apple Music. Napster had to use a "decentralized" approach since the service violated copyrights. Modern services that properly license music and pay artists for their work use a conventional architecture that is akin to what major services like Google use for your email account, and are far more secure, and stable.

Today, while Bitcoin uses its original architecture (proof-of-work blockchain) that is made intentionally to be extremely slow and inefficient, most other major blockchain-based currencies use a more streamlined version of that architecture that essentially centralizes control of the network, called "proof-of-stake". Still others, like Hedera and Haypenny (which has been benchmarked at over 1 million transactions per second), don't use the blockchain architecture at all.



But hey that's just me...

[Shishir99]

I don't actually talk about Bitcoin in public. However, if you ask me, I would do something different. People do not care about centralization and decentralization. Most average people care about money; this is what I need to explain to them. I would say Bitcoin is a better version of gold. Gold is unlimited; however, Bitcoin is limited. The value of Bitcoin is somewhat volatile, but it offers better long-term returns.

I would also explain about inflation and how it works. Most average people don't know how inflation works. If I tell them that, give me 50K, I will give you 100K in ten years, they would be interested because they understand the money doubling thing. It is too easy to double their money. However, due to the inflation, 100K in ten years might worth less than 50K.

[Donk1]

Well to me  it's simple bitcoin is a revolutionary technology that was created to bring freedom it users through decentrallisation. Basically it has proven to be a digital new way of money that can't be inflated because of it's unique scarcity of 21 million coins. So yeah bitcoin is valuable in may ways and in the hands of every individual it can perform as requested and reliable unlike a traditional Bank....

​Overall bitcoin has an unlimited potential and the exploration of this asset lead's to the understanding of what it means to truly have ownership over your funds ..

Furthermore it will be determined on the person's / individual interest to give it a try by studying the asset first on their own....hat's all for me .....

[BlackHatCoiner]

It'd depend on what kind of person I'm talking to, but in general, I'd go with: Bitcoin is a digital currency you can send over the Internet. What distinguishes it from other digital currencies is that (1) it is decentralized in nature; there is no central bank or authority that issues it and permits it to function; anyone with Internet access can use it without permission. And (2) it is fixed in supply, which is a property that no other money has.

Modern services that properly license music and pay artists for their work use a conventional architecture that is akin to what major services like Google use for your email account, and are far more secure, and stable.

This is an absolutely horrible analogy. No other digital currency is as secure as bitcoin.

[Odohu]

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?

For a country like mine where inflation is as high as 30% following the devaluation of our currency, it is easy because right now people are looking for alternative way of saving their money. The popular ways are treasury bills and fixed deposits in our local currency but then, inflation is still a big factor.
Saving in dollar would have been an option but that is not readily accessible due to bureaucracy and for the fact that the dollar is not also immune from inflation. Hence, people will be more than happy to learn that Bitcoin present them an alternative of saving their money such that inflation will not kill their sweat.

In addition to this, remittance is a very big challenge in my country as well. People will really be happy to use Bitcoin for remittance and it will be settled in minutes and at cheaper rate than other methods that take days and comes at high prices.

[Hypnotizer]

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.

Sure, not everyone would like to read the white paper to and even if some people read it they might still not clearly completely understand what Bitcoin really is in a broader context.

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

This video will make the explanation really simple: https://x.com/bitcoinnewscom/status/2006059510243233801?s=46

Check it out, it is just three minutes long and it really explains the basics every beginner should know…as a beginner your interest in bitcoin might even increase after watching the video.

[Joy_learns_crypto]

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?

It may seem like a rookie question but nonetheless a question. After reading ideas here since you are looking for ideas you can read more ideas on how to explain bitcoin from similar thread.
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=25308.0
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1600381.2100
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5530213.20
You can learn a lot from other people’s concepts on how they would explain bitcoin to someone so even if it may seem a rookie question the experienced can learn.

[Cryptomultiplier]

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?

The demand for a brief explanation may be very dependent on the kind of individual am trying to enlighten, otherwise a lengthy explanation with links to sites and website pages on the internet would be just about enough study experience for someone who has never heard of it before or just hearing about it for the first time and wants to invest in it.
For a brief explanation, this forum would be just a direction I would give with mentorship as a commitment of my time to make sure they understand and succeed in their Bitcoin investment endeavors.

[moneystery]

just plain and simple, how would you explain Bitcoin to someone briefly?

I will simply explain it by saying that it is a digital currency. With that explanation, people will find it easier to understand. Only then, if they are more interested in the topic, will I explain the things that make bitcoin different from fiat currencies in and why it is so valuable today.
People should have a good understanding when it is explained simply like this, because if they get into more advanced topics about bitcoin, they should be able to learn it themselves if they really want to understand it.

[Findingnemo]

It'd depend on what kind of person I'm talking to, but in general, I'd go with: Bitcoin is a digital currency you can send over the Internet. What distinguishes it from other digital currencies is that (1) it is decentralized in nature; there is no central bank or authority that issues it and permits it to function; anyone with Internet access can use it without permission. And (2) it is fixed in supply, which is a property that no other money has.
~

Consider this person as an average internet user who has no idea about decentralization. The reason I created this thread is yesterday I was explaining about bitcoin to a girl who is in her early 20s, I did a couple of times already about bitcoin to the same person but yesterday it went deep and she said it is interesting thing to learn when I brought the details about banking system at first and how they can control the entire money flow in the world and the concept of having paper asa currency itself doesn't make sense because it doesn't hold the intrinsic value that's when I realized we should not really make them aware about bitcoin, the first step should be about the bank and money then bitcoin will be interesting concept for them.

[Cryptoprincess101]

Do we still need to explain bitcoin to anyone at this point? except someone that doesn't make use of the internet that will need explanation about bitcoin and someone who don't have access to the internet due to not being educated or lacking the finance to purchase an internet enabled phone or computer do not even need to know anything about bitcoin because what will be the essence of doing that, everything you will tell such person will just be like pouring water in a basket. The only thing i can explain to someone (that is, if they meet me for help) is how to secure their wallets.

[Findingnemo]

Do we still need to explain bitcoin to anyone at this point? except someone that doesn't make use of the internet that will need explanation about bitcoin and someone who don't have access to the internet due to not being educated or lacking the finance to purchase an internet enabled phone

The Internet is full of information, which seems like a good thing but nope, too much of information makes people dump too or don't know which one they can trust and to know the truth they need to do further research but most people will stop at that point and take whatever they read as true.

As I said in the previous post, if they want to know about bitcoin they will take steps but making them actually interested in the simplest way is the intention behind this thread.

[Upgrade00]

The Bitcoin white paper is not very beginner friendly. Without some level of in-depth knowledge most will struggle to understand it, there are other easy to understand sources of information for those looking to get into Bitcoin.

First, there has to be interest to understand Bitcoin and how it works, you should not be explaining Bitcoin to people who have no desire to learn about it. For someone interested, I'll describe it as a censorship resistant digital currency which is not restricted by borders and does not rely on any third party fully run on a community driven network. It's also incredibly secure.

If they are more interested, I'll send more info they can read to understand better.

[legiteum]

This is an absolutely horrible analogy. No other digital currency is as secure as bitcoin.

If you actually understand serious infosec, you'd not use words like "secure" and instead used, "secured", i.e. the verb. Without getting into a lot of details here, suffice to to say that 90% of real security breaches today involve the failure of people in the system, not hardware and not system-level software. And thus what secures a system is processes, governance, monitoring, prosecutors, and laws.

The Bitcoin network itself is secured because lots of people make sure it is every day by carefully controlling access to source code, vetting distros, monitoring the network for attacks, and so on. The software itself doesn't really do much except be secure on a basic level, but lots and lots of other systems are perfectly secure as well (when is the last time a major bank lost customer records for instance--it just doesn't happen).

And for serious infosec, you look at the whole problem, not just one system. It's why you don't buy the world's most expensive lock for your front door only to have the thieves break the window right next to it. Infosec goes from the on-media storage of the data all of the way to the end-users usage of the product. Hence Bitcoin is only as secure as the least secure wallet software, the most compromised broker company, the most criminal middlemen, or the stupidest user (which, again, is true for all systems).

But saying, "I am able to store data and not lose it" doesn't make your system secure. Yes, it's a prerequisite, but any decent IT architecture will secure data in a way that it is essentially impossible to lose the transaction. That is a problem that got solved about 40 years ago.

[red4slash]

When in this situation I personally would probably emphasize financial freedom and analogize this to gold in the digital version (because some will definitely make gold the biggest consideration compared to other precious metals such as silver and bronze) and bitcoin is gold in the digital version when compared to altcoins or shitcoins. They have supply as only 21 million bitcoins will be in circulation, bitcoins cannot be counterfeited and most importantly bitcoins have the potential for long-term upside although this is always a matter of speculation but the fact of the matter is that it is.

Those who are laymen sometimes always make the aspect of profit as a benchmark so that when we want to provide attractiveness then surely we have to show the advantages of bitcoin to them but do not forget also that we have to tell the risk because sometimes giving them hope with sweet words but not providing risk as a comparison terakdang precisely this makes some new people become wrong in perception.

[EFS]

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.