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Top Five Videos That Explain Bitcoin. Fast.

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I’ve rounded up the best videos that quickly describe Bitcoin and won’t give you a headache. These videos are short and to the point. They were made to introduce the biggest features of Bitcoin without overwhelming the viewer with a bunch of geek-speak.

What is Bitcoin? by Bitonic and funk-e

Why It’s Good

A very catchy video with a lot of impact. Illustrates many of the best parts of Bitcoin in just 1 minute and 35 seconds: no borders, no middleman, low transaction fees, limited amount (no inflation), and quick transactions.

Where It’s Inaccurate

What is Bitcoin? by weusecoins

Why It’s Good

Short and sweet with some cool animations. Touches on other major advantages of Bitcoin: the simplicity of sending Bitcoin, benefits for merchants, and how miners are rewarded for verifying transactions and recording them in the blockchain.

Where It’s Inaccurate

Bitcoin: All the Facts by Daily Reckoning

Why It’s Good

A slightly slower paced video that hits on many of the best points of Bitcoin without being biased. It gives some details about mining and how the creation rate of bitcoins is reduced over time.

Where It’s Inaccurate

  • 1:55 — “Right now, 25 bitcoins are generated every 10 minutes. This rate will halve every 4 years until the final bitcoins are created in 2140.”

    I’m going to nitpick those time frames because they are approximations. The detailed truth is that bitcoins are created whenever a miner solves a block, which may be more or less frequent than 10 minutes (but the network periodically adjusts the mining difficulty to make solving a block take 10 minutes on average). Also, the bitcoin reward is cut in half for every 210,000 blocks solved, which has taken about 4 years in the past. But it may take less than 4 years in the future, especially if more and more computing power is put into mining bitcoins.

Bitcoin Explained by Duncan Elms

Why It’s Good

A little outdated, but completely worth watching for the visual effects! The video states how Bitcoin has no central bank and there are a limited amount of bitcoins, but focuses more on Bitcoin mining, exchanges, and marketplaces.

Where It’s Inaccurate

  • 2:11 — “The largest Bitcoin exchange is Mt. Gox.”

    This was once true, but Mt. Gox has filed for bankruptcy and no longer operates.

“What’s the Deal with Bitcoins” by BIPS

Why It’s Good

The video was professionally produced by eBay. It brings up many of Bitcoin’s best features like being nearly counterfeit-proof, security through cryptography, and the lack of a central authority. But the primary focus is the uncertainty of Bitcoin’s future and how it “might one day impact the global economy”.

Where It’s Inaccurate

  • 0:47 — “Bitcoins are also a fully anonymous form of currency.”

    Not true, Bitcoin is pseudonymous, because all transactions are public and recipients and senders are identified by their Bitcoin addresses. Physical cash is a fully anonymous form of currency.

  • 1:10 — “They can’t be … confiscated by governments.”

    This is somewhat misleading because a Bitcoin wallet can be confiscated by governments, law enforcement, or anyone else. The taker just has to hack your computer, or steal your hard drive, or snag whatever physical medium that contains your wallet’s private keys. And your bitcoins will be gone. Just ask Ross Ulbricht, who had 144,000 bitcoins seized by the FBI when they snatched his laptop while he was using it in a public library.

    The best protection against physical theft is to encrypt your hard drive or Bitcoin wallet with a secure passphrase, and back it up to another physical location. Then even if your wallet is taken, it will be nearly impossible for the thief to use or spend your bitcoins, while you will still have access to them.


Do you know another video that is great at explaining Bitcoin quickly? Contact me — let’s make this list grow!

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