Legal and regulatory hazards aside, as both an investment and currency, bitcoin is very risky. When you wake up in the morning, you know pretty precisely how much a dollar can buy. The financial value of a bitcoin, however, is highly erratic and may swing widely from day to day and even hour to hour.
It’s very difficult, though not impossible, for bitcoin transactions to be traced back to individuals. Though they’re secured, they’re also obscured through the use of public and private encryption keys. This pseudonymity can be appealing, especially with companies and marketers increasingly tracking our every purchase, but it also comes with drawbacks. You can never be certain who is selling you bitcoin or buying them from you. Opportunities for money laundering abound.
Theft is also a risk, and there are limited avenues for pursuing refunds, challenging a transaction or recovering such losses. Once a transaction hits the blockchain, it’s final.