I've made some decent money playing the markets winning more than I lose but honestly isn't the best way to spend one's time.
It would be better to invest in some kind of business or skill that earns bitcoin and other alt coins. The demand is HUGE for anyone who wants to step into the game. Your looking at much more stable returns and don't have to find yourself in the unpleasant situation of "betting against the success of bitcoin" selling at the top and praying the price goes down at the desired buy-in price.
Any 12 year old with some basic HTML skills could run a business in digital coins right now. Assuming they aren't already running a botnet from my gaming computer. Persistent Little *#$#@ aren't they?