system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
What exactly is bitcoin mining? Why is it worth anything to anyone - why would anyone accept it as payment?

I read that mining is "racing" to solving an algorithm, resulting in one bitcoin. What I don't know is what algorithm is it solving?
gpt
It's a manufactured scarce resource -- kind of like gold is a naturally occuring scarce resource.

It took years to become accepted as payment, and this was helped along by people trying to launder their local currency or buy illegal goods.

But considering that most government-backed currencies aren't limited, it's actually a pretty good compromise between bullion currency and fiat currency.

[edit] One other reason for using it is that it is a blockchain-based currency, which means it supports full end-to-end auditing and validation of the currency movement.  This means you can know exactly where each bitcoin has been from the moment of its creation until now.  This limits the possibilities of counterfeiting as well as, ironically, laundering.