Bitcoin's plunge

Bitcoin saw a spectacular rise in 2013, zooming up to nearly $1,000 apiece as the year drew to a close and generating excitement among fans over where it would go in 2014. But the digital currency turned into one of the worst investments of the year, steadily falling to just above the $300 mark by December.

Bitcoin's credibility took some serious hits as unregulated exchanges unraveled. Perhaps the biggest threat to Bitcoin this year was the collapse of Mt. Gox, the Tokyo exchange that handled as much as 70 percent of all Bitcoin trading in 2013.

Mt. Gox filed for bankruptcy and announced that some $450 million in Bitcoins had been stolen. While more than $100 million in Bitcoin was later recovered, many customers never saw their currency restored and lost all faith in Bitcoin.