We're Actually Surprised By How Many Americans Know About Bitcoin

REUTERS/Jim UrquhartBitcoins created by enthusiast Mike Caldwell are seen in a photo illustration at his office in Sandy, Utah, September 17, 2013.

Bloomberg has performed a simple poll on Americans' awareness of Bitcoin, and the results may be pretty bullish for the digital currency.

42% of Americans correctly identified Bitcoin as a digital currency. 46% said they weren't sure.

And 12% thought it was either an iPhone app or an Xbox game.

Still, 42% ain't bad for a computer program created in a guy's bedroom that until just a few months ago was used primarily to buy drugs in the backwaters of the Internet.

The value of Bitcoin has climbed 7,000% in 2013, and about 200% in the past month. It was trading at about $915 on the Mt. Gox exchange today.

Once Bitcoin was defined to those who weren't familiar with it, 45% said it would be better if it were regulated, while 39% said it would be better if it continued to go unregulated. 16% said they weren't sure.

Bloomberg and Selzer & Co. of Des Moines, IA, interviewed 1,004 U.S. adults ages 18 or older.