Bitcoins are a form of virtual currency that people can use to buy things online like shoes and houses but is different from credit, for reasons. I won’t pretend I understand how the whole thing works, but if you think about it only a tiny bit (heh), it’s pretty much like real money without the paper, which is probably why this New York City bar was so willing to give it a shot.

Charlie Shrem and Alex Likhtenstein are the co-owners of the bar EVR, which has just become the first NYC bar to accept Bitcoins as payment.

The idea is that customers who use Bitcoin just tell their servers they’re paying with the system, the servers give them a tablet with the BitPay app, the customers scan the barcode and the app deducts the drink’s cost from the customer’s Bitcoin account. A more detailed breakdown can be found at CNN Money.

Frankly the whole thing sounds a little “Mark of the Beast”-y, especially considering the value of Bitcoins has risen over 300% in the past three weeks, only to drop again by over $100 yesterday. Plus the fact that the “coins” themselves are financially backed by precisely dick. Imagine trying to buy a $15 mai-tai only to learn your precious coins dropped in value again tonight, for no apparent reason. "But barkeep, they were just worth $1M this morning!"

I say we just go back to bartering. How's that sound, bartender? My left shoe for a brewski?

H/T + PicThx Consumerist