Over and over, you ask yourself the same question:

"What are Bitcoins? Do they bite?"

Well, no, they don't. We can tell you that much from experience. The digital peer-to-peer currency was invented in 2009 and has only recently surged into the broad public consciousness. Though it holds no true inherent value, the decentralized cryptocurrency can easily be compared to traditional mining.

SEE ALSO: Tiny ATM Takes Your Money and Gives You Bitcoin

Redditor Artesian elaborated on this extended metaphor, which runs as deep as the Bitcoin mine itself — just imagine CPUs are pickaxes and GPUs are jackhammers.

Dig deeper into the Bitcoin phenomenon with the above video, courtesy of AcademicEarth.org.

Now that you know a bit more about Bitcoin, do you think you'll start mining? Let us know in the comments.

Thumbnail image courtesy of Flickr, Zach Copley