I don’t understand anything about bitcoin. I know it is digital currency, but what is backing it?
Same thing backing the US dollar.
Nothing, the same as Federal Reserve notes.
Just google it.
I googled it, yahood it, binged it, .... still don’t understand it.
It was created out of nothing by a hacker.
The FR doesn’t like competition in the fiat money business. Fiat money backed by nothing but the full faith and credit of a Federal Guvmint run by a liberal slug bureaucracy. And governed by the Obama Junta
What Really Backs the U.S. Dollar? ...
Jun 28, 2009 - This is where you get the saying that U.S. dollars are backed by the “full faith and credit” of the U.S. government. In other words, Nixon implied ...
The good faith of the Occupy Wall Street types and hackers who came up with the idea.
You see, money is evil. It's a tool of evil banks and governments, designed to deprive you of your just reward for existing. Some very forward thinking people (you may have seen some of them on the TV during those Occupy events) have the answer for you. Bitcoins. Drop out and tune in to Bitcoins.
Unlike cumbersome dollars, bitcoins are easy to use. All you need is a secure computer, internet connection, your bitlocker software, a good understanding of computer operation and an understanding of modern cryptography software. You also need to check the bitcoin security forums at least twice daily for new vulnerabilities and apply the appropriate patches if available (of go offline until the patch is issued), and execute a robust backup regimen since loss of your data = loss of your wealth.
It's pretty safe too. Sure, now and then one of the "insiders" like the one in this story will abscond with all your money, but that's just another form of the exalted wealth distribution concept, so it's all good.
So remember, the dollar is evil. Just because it appears to work when you want it to, it's really deceptive. When you pay your dinner bill, the dollars you give the restaurant are backed by nothing but the US government and the country... that's a pretty weak promise. With Bitcoins, you have the "coolness" of it on your side, so who needs monetary backing?
Nothing. Fake money, worth whatever people who like owning fake things make it. And apparently easy to steal. And created out of nothing. Backed by nothing. And could become worthless without anybody losing face or caring, except those who own it.
Which makes it different than money issued by a government, since the government has a stake in keeping the value of its currency, while the bitcoin people just had to make their money selling it, and now they can move on and leave worthless bits in their wake.