Think About It. Eve, Don’t Do it! This is ordinarily not an advice column, so I’ll simply try to provide the information you may have wanted on the current form of ancient barter. See, this group of guys (and gals) in San Francisco got together over Asian food and beverage to pass the time of night. Someone must have said, “You wanta make some money? A cryptic chorus of the computer language for “You bet!” rang out, I’m sure.
Now you can see the picture but nobody can show you the money. It must be real. After all Ross Ullbricht was sentenced to life in jail for his alleged involvement in killings resulting from drug transactions facilitated by payments in the cryptocurrency. His former San Francisco friends say he was offering Bitcoins at a steep discount for dollars, still the currency of this realm. Both are fiat money worth only what you and I agree when we engage in a trade for goods or services.
Once upon a time when we were I was young the dollar bill was called a Silver Certificate. You carried the paper for convenience, and could exchange it for real silver. In 1934 president Franklin Roosevelt signed the Gold Reserve Act providing severe penalties for the “hoarding” of gold. Your money could now be exchanged for stuff, but not for gold. We now carry with us ever changing colors of paper with threads of silk to prevent the private printing of public money. There is hope. The father of a would-be future president says: ” A system of capitalism presumes sound money, not fiat money manipulated by a central bank. Capitalism cherishes voluntary contracts and interest rates that are determined by savings, not credit creation by a central bank.” Ron Paul
Meanwhile, back at the mine you increase your resources with blocks of Bitcoins by joining a slush pool for the synergistic efficiency, creating bigger algorithms more easily than you could ever do alone. Words in italics are terms of the trade. As the story goes, the techno-tribe of p2p (That’s peer to peer.) bargainers began in 2008 intending to seek their fame and fortune while some earned infamy. They learned that while this mythical money won’t burn a hole in your pocket, you do need a wallet which you can’t see but can lose. They say deflation rather than inflation will be the natural course of its increasing value. At the same time we are told how the mining process increases the amount of money in the market. That’s the way our government already prints money causing it to lose value. I’m confused. How about you? Maybe this graphic will help. I think it came from a dance instruction for a samba, but there’s a subtle rhythm missing for a real bossa nova. 
One of the many Bitcoin pictures promises VIRES IN NUMERIS, maybe not as catchy as E PLUIBUS UNUM but comfortingly Latin in any event. Wait a minute. Where can I spend my newfound wealth? The usual web search may help. 2 Buy survival food. Gamble. Make a payment to Fly Virgin into space. Even the federal government has approved using them for political donations. They may give you a tax deduction, but I doubt if they’ll give you a credit.
You may have missed tulip mania in 1637, the great Florida pre-depression swampland sale of the 1920’s and even passed up a bridge investment. This new money may sound good, and I may have to eat my words. I know I was wrong about not buying Apple. But if you’re thinking of taking a byte of Bitcoin, Eve, Don’t Do It. Think About It.