Bitcoin - Anonymous, Peer-to-Peer Virtual Cash

There have been many attempts to establish a popular virtual currency system over the years.  Bitcoin is a recent one which seems to be gathering a lot of steam.  While digital currency and electronic payments are common, a replacement for real-world cash-like transactions has remained elusive and no standard has really caught on. 

Bitcoin meets many of the requirements of "e-cash" - it is secure, anonymous and completely decentralized and traded through a peer-to-peer network.  It is easy to use and allows private transactions between individuals.  Bitcoin is also most governments' worst nightmare - it is possible to conduct payments without any external trackable record - there is nothng to tax!

Bitcoin was developed by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009, the realization of a paper he wrote, Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.  It is also the name of an open-source client application which allows the exchange, storage and generation of Bitcoins, and is available for Windows, Mac and Linux platforms.