[exogeny]

>Plenty of people understand Bitcoin. Go read the whitepaper.

Plenty of people on HN. Maybe. And that's about it.

Mainstream acceptance is far, far away, and having a condescending attitudes towards those who struggle with the concept is not going to help.

[thephyber]

Plenty of people understand the basics of BitCoin, that it is a currency and how to transact with an exchange that supports it.

You don't need to know the knitty-gritty of SHA256, blockchains, or the game theory associated with Proof of Work to "understand" BitCoin.

If you apply the same standards for "knowledge" of the US Dollar, you also have to require that people understand the intricacies of the US Treasury, the Mint, The Federal Reserve (and it's 12 constituent regional Central Banks), concepts of fiat currency, etc.

[slededit]

Most people don't understand central banking, yet they use the existing monetary system just fine. Mainstream acceptance doesn't require universal knowledge - merely trust.