Bitcoin: Is the virtual currency for online drug buys doomed?

The federal government weighs a crackdown after reports that the booming esoteric digital currency is used to buy and sell illegal drugs online

Bitcoin, an online digital currency, has no intrinsic value and has become the monetary system of choice of libertarians and online drug traders.
(Image credit: YouTube)

Since its creation in 2009, Bitcoin, a shadowy underground virtual currency, has primarily been used by hackers. But after reports that it's now being used to buy and sell hard drugs online, Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) have called for Bitcoin to be shut down. (Watch a Reason video on Bitcoin here.) Here, a brief guide:

What is Bitcoin?

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