I think most people think the only reason bitcoins are useful is that they're not controlled by a government. However, I've recently started using bitcoins for some tiny transactions and found out something I didn't expect: They're EASY PEASY to use... much easier than papal, credit cards, or even cash!
For those of you who don't know. A bitcoin "bank account" can be conjured out of thin air using randomness and some crypto algorithms. It consists of only two numbers, a public "bitcoin address" and a "private key". (kinda like an RSA key pair).
The moment you've created these two numbers, you can say to someone "hey, send your $$$ to my address". Then, any time in the future you can withdraw money out of the account via your private key. This last step (withdrawing your money) is actually the ONLY step that requires any real effort at all (installing software on your PC, or trusting an online wallet site) and that's STILL super easy.
EDIT: I think I ended up sounding too much like a cheerleader in this post... I'm talking purely about easiness from a theoretical standpoint. In the real world, there are clearly still many obstacles making bitcoins a PITA to deal with.
For those of you who don't know. A bitcoin "bank account" can be conjured out of thin air using randomness and some crypto algorithms. It consists of only two numbers, a public "bitcoin address" and a "private key". (kinda like an RSA key pair).
The moment you've created these two numbers, you can say to someone "hey, send your $$$ to my address". Then, any time in the future you can withdraw money out of the account via your private key. This last step (withdrawing your money) is actually the ONLY step that requires any real effort at all (installing software on your PC, or trusting an online wallet site) and that's STILL super easy.
EDIT: I think I ended up sounding too much like a cheerleader in this post... I'm talking purely about easiness from a theoretical standpoint. In the real world, there are clearly still many obstacles making bitcoins a PITA to deal with.