Bitcoins are a virtual currency. It is a revolutionary new concept that has emerged in the past 5 years. Bitcoins are not backed by any central bank or government and allow for more financial anonymity. They are created by "miners" who run algorithms on high end computer hardware in order to "discover" Bitcoins. It gets harder and harder to "mine" them over time. Since their introduction a few years ago, the value of the currency has skyrocketed. Prices reaced record highs on Monday at $800 per Bitcoin and %100 increase in 5 days. However this currency has a dark side. it has been used in the past to conduct illegal transaction due to its untraceable properties. US Congress is meeting this week to discuss Bitcoins validity and place in US Finances.
I believe that Bitcoins are a very interesting concept and that Congress should sanction them. They have become a sort of investment and many people are buying into the concept. It will be interesting to see what an unbacked currency will do.
This topic is very interesting to me. I have seen a lot about bitcoins on reddit, but i haven't really looked into what they are. Thanks for explaining what they are. I still don't get what you meant by them being "mined" with algorithms though??? are they a physical thing?
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