As a currency, BC is useless because it requires a computer and the Internet to execute transactions. It is also vilnerable to several types of attacks; if the merchant wants to avoid double use of the same coin he has to hold the customer at the store for 10 to 30 minutes, until the network confirms the transaction.
The assertion that BC is "loved by hackers" is very much wrong. Most geeks know that BC is a scam - a very good scam, and technically correct one, but still a scam. The majority of coins are owned by the creator of the protocol - an unknown person, by the way. If BC becomes a real currency this guy will own the world. Or so he thinks. That's why now and then various articles show up on news sites to maintain interest in BC.
Today BC is only used for two things: for speculation, and for illicit deals. There is even a Web site that is selling drugs for bitcoins. There is no reason to use BC for anything else. Currency is backed by the willingness of other people to take it in exchange for goods and services. So far there are far more paper currencies of different countries that have better acceptance. BC cannot be used unless you understand *exactly* how it works and you are *absolutely sure* that the payment that you just accepted is in good bitcoins. There is nothing standing between you and a counterfeit bitcoins except a piece of software that anyone can change, recompile, and put onto your payment computer. A merchant has no protection if he is given bad money. IRS and your state will be after you for failure to pay taxes on this revenue. And how would you pay those taxes? None of common merchants are set up to accept foreign currency. Few CPAs are trained to do accounting in multiple currencies.
That is also a SCAM.