Bitcoins value can rise or fall by hundreds of dollars in an instant. The virtual currency is insanely fickle and unpredictable. This makes it fun to observe but one must be extremely cautious when thinking about entering the game.

So, I bought a bitcoin a few weeks ago — just a single one, for fun! — at around $800, after having listened to a bunch of Internet nerds wax on about it until I was too weary to resist. Since I could not say they were nuts without some personal knowledge to snark properly, I felt I had to pony up some real dough to purchase the virtual currency.