Author Bio A Fool since 2010, and a graduate from UC San Diego with a B.A. in Economics, Sean specializes in the healthcare sector and investment planning. You'll often find him writing about Obamacare, marijuana, drug and device development, Social Security, taxes, retirement issues and general macroeconomic topics of interest. Follow @TMFUltraLong For many investors, much of the past year has been a roller-coaster ride. But for cryptocurrency investors in bitcoin, it's been a fun one. Over the trailing year, through Jan. 23, bitcoin rose by a cool 280% -- a return that's nearly 17 times greater than what the benchmark S&P 500 delivered over the same period. Crypto enthusiasts continue to be enamored with the perceived scarcity of bitcoin (only 21 million tokens will be mined), its growing utility with merchants, and the game-changing potential that its blockchain offers to expedite the settlement of payments, especially overseas.