HR,
While I agree with the basis of this, we must think what normal consumers will interpret this as. Will they really know what a cryptographic protocol or crytographic digital currency is? We need to embed the idea around something more common.
I don't have any suggestions or recommendations yet, but you are on to something.
YC
I agree that the explanation is not simple, nor is education on the subject, not by any stretch of the imagination, but, ultimately, it is impossible to get away from since it is the central and defining aspect of what a cryptographic digital currency is. For as much as we'd like it to be easily understood, even to the point of trying to simplify so much that we almost end up ignoring it, it just isn't possible.
That shouldn't be seen as a negative however, rather it should be seen as one of the cryptographic digital currency's strongest points: it's the very nature, the extremely complicated nature, of the cryptographic digital currency that makes it the most secure and unbreakable digital currency it is.
By definition it is complicated. If it weren't, then this would be a non-starter to begin with. We can't get away from that fact, and, if we want it to succeed, we can't get away from explaining it either.
So why not get it up front and center so that people will at least have something to work with when trying to understand it? By simply googling "cryptographic", the interested person 'stumbles across' a wealth of information that serves as a wonderful starting point. On the other hand, if the defining characteristic of DGB is hidden, their task becomes all that more difficult.
"Digital currency" is already understood by most. It's a fairly easy concept to grasp, but so is its inherent vulnerability. Helping people then to understand cryptography, and the defining role it plays in cryptographic digital currencies, is the next logical step in demonstrating what the critical addition of cryptography means for a digital currency and why it's the game changer that turns a digital currency into a real means of exchange.