However, as the currency's use on the open market has increased, so have its price fluctuations.
In one of the first known transactions, one bitcoin was worth 6 US cents, but last year it was briefly worth more than gold and soared through the $US1,000 mark.
David Glance, director of the University of Western Australia Centre for Software Practice, warns that there are a number of risks involved in using bitcoins.
"The price is very volatile, so it represents a risk like any investment," he said.
"People who have kept them in digital wallets online in certain sites have been hacked, so bitcoins have been lost that way.
"Certain exchanges have gone out of business and people have lost bitcoins that way."
That volatility means businesses know it is not safe to hold onto bitcoins and, instead, there are merchants servicing the currency who convert payment to real dollars.
Or you can use one of Australia's two bitcoin machines, owned by bitcoin enthusiast Dale Dickins.
"I see it becoming a lot more user friendly and accessible to people who don't have access to banks and international remittance for people who transfer funds overseas," Ms Dickins said.
