Can someone explain what bitcoins are?

[Akolyte]

I've been seeing and hearing tons of stuff about bitcoins, I thought they were just like online currency redeemed from credit cards or something.  So that made sense, then I started hearing about all the value and stuff and I just started getting confused?  Then I heard about bitcoin mining? and that makes me more confused! then I hear about these power plug things or these USB things that mine for bitcoins! I'm so confused I must have got everything wrong! So what are bitcoins? How do you get them? and why are they such high value? 

[Kiwiandapple]

Look down! Looney put some text in. 

[looney]

Have a look at travis'es post:

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/10886-introduction-to-bitcoins/

That should explain most of it

[Grape Guild]

Virtual currency.  Hard to explain, but "mining" is a term for your system solving complex problems, and in return, getting an increasingly smaller portion of bitcoin?  I'm not really an expert on this topic.  Personally, I'm staying out of it after hearing so many horror stories of people losing thousands by buying hardcore rigs and not making anything.

[defunkt]

google it for gods sakes.

[wng_kingsley7]

To make it simple: Like anything a bitcoin is a type of currency that has and hasn't got any value due to its virtual physicality. Where bitcoin has grown in current value is due to the information required for one I believe.

1Bitcoin is worth in US dollars about $1'300 and in Stirling pounds £830.

 

You get or the technical word "Mine" them by using your processor/or graphics card to write information/answers for formula's correctly and in return you the miner/(s) are given a fraction of a bitcoin which accumulates over however long your running your PC continuously.