THE WOOLONG
Bitcoin makes the concept of the Woolong, the digital cash used in the Cowboy Bebop universe, into a reality
Open-source
Nobody owns the Bitcoin network or protocol, meaning bitcoins can be used by any party, and could become a universal currency like woolongs.
Real scarcity
Despite the Bitcoin network being distributed and publically accessible, and its unit of currency being digital, the number of bitcoins that will be generated is pre-defined, and cannot be changed.

Peer-to-Peer
The Bitcoin network has no central authority. Peers on the global network create the payment transfer processor that is Bitcoin.
Instant
For most transactions, you can confirm transfer completion instantly. For larger transactions, waiting 10-20 minutes will provide a greater than 99.9999% assurance that you've received the funds.        

Digital
With bitcoins, like with woolongs, you never need to carry physical money. Every thing is digital.
Always-on
With a connection to the internet, you can receive and transfer bitcoins 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, because the peer-to-peer network never sleeps. This makes them digital cash, like woolongs.
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Woolongs in Cowboy Bebop
A woolong bounty on fugitives in 'Waltz for Venus'
Spike transferring woolongs to Faye using his electronic wallet in 'Waltz for Venus'
Woolong conversion-rate
Michael Surbrook estimates that one Woolong is worth approximately one real-world Japanese Yen:
A note on money. The standard currency in Cowboy Bebop is the woolong. Its is roughly equal to one present-day Japanese yen. A sample prices: Appledelphis's bounty (fake) -- 50.000000 (i.e. 50) woolongs; 1 watermelon -- 1,000 woolongs; to ship a package from the Venus starport to the desert -- 5,000 woolongs; COD on a package shipment -- 6,300 woolongs; toll for gate passage -- roughly 7,000 woolongs; Whitney's bounty -- 19,800 woolongs; fine/bounty for littering -- 20,000 woolongs; COD for betadeck and tape -- 31,500 woolongs, typical bounty -- 1 million woolongs, Asimov Solensan's bounty -- 2.5 million woolongs; Faye's bounty -- 6 million woolongs; reward for the return of Ein, the stolen data dog -- 8 million woolongs; Chess Master Hex's bounty -- 12 million woolongs; Faye's debt -- 300,028,000 woolongs.
This makes a woolong equivalent to a little bit more than 1¢ USD. One bitcoin, as of January 25th, 2013, is worth $17.52 USD, so given a woolong is worth 1-2 cents, a woolong has a value equivalent to approximately 0.001 - 0.0005 bitcoins.
Therefore, a woolong is a good approximation of 1 millibitcoin (0.001 bitcoin), and could be used interchangeably with the term, as a unit of bitcoin.
The Woolong wallet
The Cowboy Bebop episode 'Waltz for Venus' showcases an electronic wallet used to transfer woolongs stored on smart cards. The wallet has a number pad through which the amount of woolongs to be