"Fiat? What do you mean?"

At the bitcoin meetup yesterday we had a really nice server taking care of our table. He noticed we were a bitcoin group and was curious about what we were talking about, so we started chatting a bit.

He asked a few questions, and the way I explained it to him was that the easiest way to understand Bitcoin is actually to first understand the fiat monetary system. When I said "fiat," he stopped me and asked what I meant by that.

It stood out to me immediately. I was reminded that a lot of people aren't even questioning the system they're living under. The question of how money works or why the system exists the way it does just never really comes up for most people.

I explained the basics to him and we talked about it for a bit. Long story short, I think I may have orange-pilled him. We exchanged numbers and I sent him some information and a few videos to check out.

What it reinforced for me is that the real goal isn't necessarily to push Bitcoin directly. The real starting point is helping people understand the fiat system.

Once people begin to see how it works, they naturally start asking questions. And once those questions start, they begin looking for alternatives.

That's where Bitcoin becomes much easier for people to understand.