Perhaps the best investment of 2017 was Bitcoin — a decentralized, digital cryptocurrency owned by everyone and no one at all. Bitcoin mania has prompted several universities to offer courses on the blockchain, or distributed ledger, technology behind it. This spring, Nitin Kale, an associate professor in USC Viterbi’s Information Technology Program, is teaching ITP499 – Blockchain, the university’s second offering on the subject. Kale explained that classes are so popular that, due to limited space, students are being turned away in droves.

“2017 was the year of Bitcoin,” Kale said. “The students are very, very excited.”

Maybe you’re already in the Bitcoin game, but if you’re still unclear on the cryptocurrency concept go to bitcoin.org and navigate to the Bitcoin Exchange page, which lists many different businesses that help you buy Bitcoin (BTC) using your bank account. You don’t even have to buy in multiples of one BTC, which is worth $8,579.75* — you can buy any fraction of one BTC. Payments are made from a wallet application on your computer or smartphone, like Bitcoin Wallet. Here are some other key facts to know.