BITCOIN SOUNDS INTRIGUING, BUT…

TaxProf linked to a scholarly article on the tax treatment of Bitcoin.  It seems intuitively obvious that Bitcoin wouldn’t fit the tax code definition of foreign currency.  It’s not issued by a foreign government, or by any government.  The problem, it seems, is that it doesn’t fit any existing definition.  
I’m not sure why Bitcoin is beset by so many bureaucratic obstacles.  Perhaps it’s a sign of the overcomplicated times we live in.
On the other hand, I haven’t seen a straightforward explanation of how Bitcoin works, nor have I really taken the time to try to understand it, so maybe the idea behind Bitcoin is just too complicated.
I am still intrigued by the idea, however.