Why is Bitcoin sucking all the oxygen out of the room?

One of our other bloggers, Joe Pimbley, is currently working on a book that we expect will touch upon the topic of Bitcoin.  While he is Financial PEST's resident Bitcoin expert, I couldn't resist posting something about it.  The New York Times Dealbook features a critical piece by Edward Hadas about the virtual currency while Bloomberg Business Week recently published a feature story about the virtual currency and the economy that has erupted in pursuit of this "fool's gold." I wonder, however, whether Bitcoin fits into the classic definition of a "currency" and whether, perhaps, there may be more similarities to the Great Tulip Mania of 1633-37 in the Netherlands.