If you think oil had a rough 2014, consider bitcoin.

The digital currency has plunged 54 percent since the beginning of the year.

By contrast, Brent crude has fallen 44 percent; the ruble is off some 46 percent against the dollar.

The dramatic reversal bitcoin reached more than $1,100 in 2013 and is now trading at about $350 is prompting skeptics, who long said the currencys promise was overhyped, to say told you so.

I dont know that its on its last legs, but its not looking good, said Nathalie Reinelt, an analyst at the financial-consulting firm Aite Group in Boston.

Reinelt has written reports expressing doubts that bitcoin will become a mainstream currency.

Its not in a healthy state, Reinelt said.

There are still plenty of bitcoin die-hards out there. Silicon Valley investor Tim Draper remains a booster.

Conferences devoted to the so-called cryptocurrency are attracting droves of adherents.

Venture-capital firms are funding bitcoin-related startups.

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Bitcoin ends year in the dumps