Bitcoin appears to be collapsing as a result of the demise of one its major exchanges. Is this the beginning of the end?

Bitcoin has always seemed a bit shady to me – invented currency with nothing behind it but a little bit of software.

Now one of the major Bitcoin exchanges – Mt. Gox – appears to be dying an ugly death.

Can Bitcoin survive? Is this a fatal blow to these synthetic currencies?

Will the people who own Bitcoins ever get their money back?