Bitcoin is:
- Decentralized: Which means that no central bank, person or group people have control over it or can change anything in it's software and/or mining capacity. It works under certain parameters designed in the moment of it's development which cannot be changed now.
- Only Digital: Bitcoin comes only under digital form and there isn't any other form of it with the same value in the market. For example, some people can buy physical version of a Bitcoin which still have a value but of course is not the same.
- Anybody can create it: By using the right hardware or their own computers people can create Bitcoins "mining" them which works by fixed parameters that change around 4 years at the current rate which doubles the difficulty of Bitcoin mining. However, specialized hardware and a lot of researching is recommended to anybody reading this when analyzing if mining is profitable in your own personal case.
You can read more about it here:
https://99bitcoins.com/bitcoin-mining-profitable-beginners-explanation/- Extremely volatile: This is due to the fact that Bitcoin is in the early stages of it's existence and still need to economically find balance in the market. That will probably happen when a lot more companies and governments accept it and when the mining rate becomes really low.
- Different variations under the same name: Some people who believes that Bitcoin can be improved or should be changed in any way can get together and since nobody can really change Bitcoin's software since it's decentralized they just create an alternative Cryptocurrency usually called "fork". Some of them even have the same name with something else added. You can read more about it here:
https://coinsutra.com/btc-vs-bch-bitcoin-cash/- Attract investors: Some people believe that Bitcoin is an asset for storing more than a currency since it's value increase over time. It is the type of currency who made more millionaires due to the extreme advancement of technology in modern times and it's decentralized nature which makes it really attractive and effective to more than a few to profit out of it. And others like me to also invest because we believe in innovation and in the future of Bitcoin.
Regular currency or real money it's exactly the opposite and for instance inferior from the point of view of a lot of us. Regular currency will be replaced in the future for digital currency, and if enough people accept it, it might almost replace any regular currency in any form.
I personally believe that it will be the most traded currency later in years, taking the spot of the dollar.