A Bitcoin for your thoughts? With bankers and lawmakers playing the fiddle while the Roman (and Greek and Cypriot) economy burns, the peer-to-peer currency is exploding in popularity, driving the cost of a single GPU-mined "coin" to $200 on Tuesday—a huge leap from the $15 that a single Bitcoin commanded in January.

Yup, digital dollars are worth more than actual ones in these wacky times. But are Bitcoins a bastion of noncentralized strength or just the latest soon-to-fizzle fad in the short, sad history of virtual economies? Keep a hand on your Bitcoin wallet during this stroll down memory lane, folks. Past forays into the computerization of cash have often been amusing, but they've never ended well.