Bitcoin can be used to pay for things electronically if both parties are willing. In that sense, its like conventional dollars, euros, or yen, which are also traded digitally.
But is it differs from fiat digital currencies in several important ways?
There are many differences between bitcoin and traditional currencies probably the most important is the decentralized nature of bitcoin, many do not really understand how important this is, to begin with this allows you to transfer your money directly from one person to the other without the need of a third party to act as a way to ensure that the transactions are correct, this means that you do not need banks at all which is one of the reasons why bitcoin is often compared to cash.
And if that was not enough the decentralized nature of bitcoin means that no government can shut it down as they had done in the past with previous attempts to create a currency that is not tied to any government.