According to Gawker, one Bitcoin is worth about $8.67, but given that bitcoins do not operate using the traditional currency regulations (like fiat currency, which has value only because of government regulation or law), the exchange rate fluctuates rapidly and unpredictably.

The biggest drive towards the use of Bitcoins on sites like Silk Road is that they supposedly cannot be traced. However, a member of the Bitcoin core development team told Gawker that "...because all Bitcoin transactions are recorded in a public log, though the identities of all the parties are anonymous, law enforcement could use sophisticated network analysis techniques to parse the transaction flow and track down individual Bitcoin users."

One of the Bitcoin exchange banks noted in Gawker's article, the Mt. Gox Bitcoin Exchange, could lead investigators to one of the sources. However, the link to the Mt. Gox Bitcoin Exchange is a weak one, especially since Silk Road can change its servers at will yet remain accessible via TOR. Additionally, Bitcoins will be exceedingly difficult to shut down since it's a P2P service and requires only two people running the free software.

The tone of the senators' letter comes off as though they themselves don't know what entity they want to destroy or how to go about it. Bitcoins, by nature and general practice, are harmless; they're merely an Internet-based alternative to traditional federal banks. Silk Road is what the U.S. government is really after. Whether it will choose to crush barely-related services along its way is now in the hands of the attorney general.