It came out around 8 years ago and nobody knows who came up with the idea. Its a form of digital curency that is not backed up by the Federal Government. They say its the currency of the future and people are buying coins then reselling them for a profit. My son bought 1,800 worth of coins three months ago and almost tripled his money. Im not sure exactly what it is eathier. Nobody has been able to figure it out. Even the top computer hackers, which by the way, is another thing about this thing, it cant be hacked into, so your money is always safe. It has no middle man, so you can transfer funds instantly all over the world. Thats all I really know about it. Im going to read more on it though because my son told me too. ;+