Hey Jayem,
Over a year late here, and I literally created this account to reply to you, but I have been researching Bitcoin for almost 18 months now. I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have. Feel free to send me a private message (if that's done here. Again, just signed up) if you'd like.
While the first thing you'll hear about Bitcoin is how much money you can make, or lose by owning it, there is so much more to it. For instance, no government can stop a transaction. Or, I can send money literally anywhere in the world and the recipient can see the transaction in seconds and spend it in about an hour. And, my personal favorite, a Bitcoin owner can memorize 24 words and literally carry their Bitcoins in their head, which makes it the perfect currency for anyone who may have to flee (think refugees, missionaries, or revolutionaries).
Bitcoin's network is the most secure network that exists in the world, and it uses orders of magnitude less energy than any other financial system that currently exists (gold, paper currency, banks, etc.) despite the common cries about Bitcoin consuming more energy than small countries.
Bitcoin's use as a method of payment is limited, primarily because it's having a hard time getting out from under the stigmas associated with it. However, I have used Bitcoin in a couple transactions myself, and it works flawlessly. It's quicker and more secure than any other digital form of payment.
The blockchain is the history of every single transaction that's ever occured. Approximately every 10 minutes a new block is mined with the last 10 minutes' worth of transactions and is added to the blockchain. It is this process, called mining, that secures the network because it requires vast amounts of energy to mine a block (and thus an even more vast amount of energy to successfully attack the network).
Anyway, I don't want to bore you if you've moved on in the 12 months since your post. But if you're still interested, let me know and I'd be happy to talk.
