That volatility = risk.

Bitcoin shows that volatility and risk can (and should) be evaluated separately.

Conventional wisdom is that the US dollar, being quite stable, is not risky, and that Bitcoin is highly volatile and therefore risky.

The dollar is indeed stable, but has nearly a one hundred-year track record of consistent inflation because fundamentally, the government can't resist itself. This is beyond "risky"; it's near-certain loss.

Bitcoin is volatile, but fundamentally represents a better (and sane) method of accounting. The best ideas don't always win, but I think Bitcoin has crossed the Rubicon already. If one's time horizon is greater than a few years, Bitcoin does not seem risky at all.