Bitcoin, blockchains, wallets, and all the other weird terminology that comes with cryptocurrencies isn’t exactly easy to understand, let alone explain to other people. While there’s a number of good resources out there, many assume a higher level of prior knowledge from its readers than they should.
So how the fuck do you explain it to someone in simple terms? Payment company Square reckons it might have the answer – a children’s story. It’s certainly not an uncommon way to get a point across, many people go to the Explain it to me Like I’m Five Reddit page for the exact same treatment.
The story is called My First Bitcoin and the Legend of Satoshi Nakamoto, old mate Satoshi being the inventor of bitcoin, although very little is known about the man himseld. The story breaks the whole thing down into simple points and uses colourful pictures of sentient machines to tell the story.
“Bitcoin holds its value because there’s a limited amount out there, kinda like a nugget of gold or silver,” the story reads. “Powerful computer networks created each unique Bitcoin by using very complex math. This is called mining!”
The illustrations are actually really cool, and were designed entirely by the company’s own Cash App brand and design team. It’s a clever little promotional tool, but Square makes a point of telling folks not to base their finances on it, which is definitely a good call. “Bitcoin’s price is volatile and unpredictable, so please make wise financial decisions,” the disclaimer at the bottom of the page reads.
It’s a great way of understanding the bare bones of bitcoin, but it leaves out a helluva lot, so as always, if you are looking at investing in crypto, you should do plenty of research and maybe even talk to an expert.
