The Virtual Currency of Bitcoin

Perhaps the learning curve is one of the biggest obstacles to adoption of Bitcoin. I've learned a lot, but still feel like there are aspects of it that I just don't get. Not yet, at least. Anyway, toying with paper "wallets" (addresses, actually) helped increase my overall understanding of things. Which, admittedly, might just be a quirk of my learning style, to want to come at something from multiple angles.

Anyway... if you haven't messed with Bitcoin, I'm predicting this is the year that many people will hear about, and start using, it for the first time. It's very different from the fiat currencies issued by governments and their appointees. With a public receiving address like 17i7rEFkMNnPBjM3cS2sMgQhvinP1bU84X (yes, that's a real address!) you can receive funds, and with a different (but matching) private key to "unlock" that address you can spend some or all of the funds received there.

Clear as mud? :)