What's the deal with bitcoin?

[Marina Schwarz + 1,576]

I honestly do not understand the bitcoin frenzy. I've been glancing at headlines containing the word and all I gather is that its value is rising fast. And futures? For the life of me I have no idea what is happening but I saw people are mortgaging their homes to buy more bitcoin and that smacks of a bubble. Would anyone care to explain it in simple terms?

[Rodent + 1,424]

All I know is that it's crazy. At $1000 at the beginning of the year, now $10,000, and some say it will be over 40K by end-2018.

But cooler heads are calling bitcoin a fraud (jpmorgan), an index of money laundering (blackrock), and just another fad.

When people start mortgaging their houses to speculate... beware. But bitcoin, should it crash, may impact other sectors as well (or so I read). I am NOT the resident bitcoin expert.

[TraderTate + 186]

It's not a fraud. I mean, there are a ton of ICOs (initial coin offerings) that are frauds, but Bitcoin itself is the real deal. It's the obvious direction of our currency in the digital age. But the really exciting part is the blockchain technology that it all 'rides' on. That will change every single industry we have forever. 

[Carlsbad + 19]

Everyone from Bloomberg and JCPenney to Gamestop .. and, well, even the Republican Party accepts bitcoin donations. 

[Marina Schwarz + 1,576]

4 hours ago, TraderTate said:

It's not a fraud. I mean, there are a ton of ICOs (initial coin offerings) that are frauds, but Bitcoin itself is the real deal. It's the obvious direction of our currency in the digital age. But the really exciting part is the blockchain technology that it all 'rides' on. That will change every single industry we have forever. 

Does this mean physical money is on the way of becoming obsolete and in the future we'll be buying physical things with virtual currencies? it does make a certain sense, definitely, though I find it hard tow rap my head around it. The other thing is bitcoin mining. I admit I'm severely challenged in the digital tech area but I am curious.