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