Last year was the year of the crypto-currency. "Virtual" P2P (peer to peer) currencies such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, and the meme-inspired, Dogecoin surged into popularity in the span of just one year. Last year has also seen the dramatic rise, and subsequent notoriety, of Bitcoin. From just US$15 at January 2013, the value of a single bitcoin surged past the US$1000 mark by November 2013. It was a phenomenal rise that few people had ever imagined for a financial entity that is freely unregulated and not backed by a government or any other hard asset such as gold.