If you've heard of Bitcoins and wondered how it works, here's a good infogram depicting the process:
The goal of Bitcoins is to eliminate the central authorities (clearing systems that rely on banks to clear the transactions), thus circumventing the potential bottlenecks, government-imposed regulations, clearing fees, etc.. Bitcoin transactions would make the money transfers practically untraceable (good or bad)
Here's a link to the higher resolution original: http://thumbnails.visually.netdna-cdn.com/bitcoin-infographic_5029189c9cbaf.jpg
