Quote from: frenulum on August 29, 2015, 12:01:32 AM

I completely agree with the OP. No offence to anyone on this forum but sometimes I think it should be renamed "nerdcoin". The technology and folklore behind Bitcoin are fascinating, and the investment potential is alluring, but the practical uses so often seem completely ignored.

Even if you look at "introduction to Bitcoin" videos on YouTube, it's all about decentralisation, the blockchain, mining, cryptography, etc. .. when in fact a layperson really just needs to be shown how you can instantly transfer "cash" between cellphones, or over email, etc

People don't need bitcoin to "instantly transfer cash between cellphones, or over email, etc".... there are plenty of services they can use to do that. So why bitcoin? I think the emphasis re: organic adoption should be less on the consumer-side.

The thing is, much of the value attributed to bitcoin has nothing to do with the transfer protocol, per se. Sure, we want average people to use it to send money. But bitcoin isn't just a replacement for Apple Pay and the like. It's important for people to learn what bitcoin is and why it has value to begin with -- that it is not simply a transfer protocol but a new asset class... a new kind of money.

Think of it like a transferable, digital gold. Decentralization is what gives a limited supply token value; it cannot be externally devalued. Cryptographic security and proof of work mining -- these aspects of the protocol are what makes those tokens retain value -- it is extremely difficult/expensive to roll back spends or remove transactions from the blockchain. In other words, this is what makes bitcoin "money".

Sure, people can devise more smooth Google or Apple-like wallets and services, so people don't even realize they are using bitcoin in day-to-day use. But the "killer app" is already here: decentralized, transferable value. It's not an easy concept to understand off the bat, but that's what newcomers need to understand.