What The Heck Is Bitcoin? The Law (i.e. Government) Struggles For An Answer

``A recent court decision has thrown up even more confusion about the legal status of digital currency.  A state judge in Florida dismissed criminal charges against a man accused of selling $2,000 in Bitcoin... what is notable about the court's decision -- is that it effectively held that Bitcoin is not money... This decision stands in contrast to guidance from the federal government, including a March 2013 publication from the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network -- the agency responsible for enforcing the federal anti-money laundering laws -- that concluded explicitly that for many purposes, federal law "does not differentiate between real currencies and convertible virtual currencies," i.e., digital currencies such as Bitcoin that can be exchanged for "real" money. ''