Most people I talk to about Bitcoin think that it's fake money. The most popular question is "How can it be money if it is not backed by anything? You can't hold it!"
This is usually when I have to use similes and metaphors that naysayers can understand.
Here is my explanation:
Yes. Cash is a tangible asset. But there are plenty of things we purchase that have value that we can't physically hold. Software, music, ect..
Try buying something with cash on Amazon. You have to turn that cash into digital currency via credit or debit then use a set of numbers on a card to make a purchase. Just as a credit card is used a vehicle to transfer value so is bitcoin.
Bitcoin is really not a currency but a vehicle to transfer value without a centralized bank or fees. Transactions settle in minutes, not days like a bank plus bitcoin can't be double spent or overspent.
I think because bitcoin users call it a currency, people think that it is money made from nothing.
The question is what is money, it's a medium of exchange. in that terms bitcoin is money, but not a good one, money should be cheap to transfer, its seems like bitcoin is no longer cheap. Money should keep their value too, bitcoin is to volatile to act like money atm.
I agree that it's too volatile to use like an atm. Maybe we could label it as a commodity? But since it's being traded, bought and sold the best way i can describe it is either a commodity or vehicle to transfer value.