Bitcoin is, including its geographic scale, a once-in-a-century event. One may expect to find similar returns in small investments in one's life, but probably

Bitcoin is, including its geographic scale, a once-in-a-century event. One may expect to find similar returns in small investments in one's life, but probably not in broader global markets. It was a fad that happened to have just-enough technological innovation baked in to yield (at least for now) spectacular success. For me, the real value in Bitcoin wasn't the small-dollars money I made in trading it for lunch money, but rather the exposure to the psychology of day-trading in a volatile market. Unless your friends are playing the game with leverage, a short-term speculative play will only yield spectacular financial success if the government decides to print a spectacular amount of money. If you can impart one idea to friends buying into this, or any, market, it might be this: "Don't play for more than you can afford to lose."