As bitcoin passes ,000 for the first time in months, the conversation around crypto is heating up again. The biggest crypto haters are now getting in on the action, most famously JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon. Ether, the Pepsi to bitcoin’s Coca-Cola, came into its own as a separate, distinct and viable long term investment. Many investors are beginning to view cryptocurrency as more than a short term speculation play or a portfolio hedge. There is evidence that the major cryptocurrencies are being used as a play against the falling U.S. dollar. News of Bitcoin’s new highs came at around the same time as headlines of dollar debasement

During the first mania in December 2017, bitcoin peaked at almost $20,000. Total market capitalization tripled from approximately $250 billion to $750 billion and barged into the mainstream public consciousness. Unfortunately for some traders, the market sold off just as quickly as it had pumped itself up.

The total market cap for the crypto market

Why Crypto is Here to Stay This Time

Professional analysts don’t believe that crypto will give back its gains so quickly this time. I tend to agree. The major difference between 2017 and 2020 is crypto’s ease of access. When I first bought crypto circa 2015, it was a real David Hasselhoff. The exchange I used, Coinbase, was clunky, slow and illiquid. I was so frustrated with my experience there that I immediately moved my crypto into a private wallet and didn’t buy again for a time.

Moving my coins into an off exchange wallet was an experience as well. I remember downloading the entire blockchain to my computer because there were few trustworthy light wallets, and even less information actually explaining what that meant. I bought a separate computer just for my bitcoin. I tried my best to learn hashes and forks. I remember thinking I was a financial genius for being able to capture and claim my Bitcoin Cash. It was a challenge for me!

Today, Coinbase is a much better experience than I remember, and so are many other exchanges. I now have three wallets that are not only easy to use, but are actually fun to use. Fees have been reduced. Trading coins against each other is more like a video game. It is easy to switch coins. You can move in real time, fast enough to catch short term moves. I can basically trade my crypto just like I trade my securities.

What’s more, the “establishment” has bought in. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) now offers futures contracts on bitcoin. Banks fought for and received the right to hold crypto quite recently. Pop singer Akon is building an entire city in Senegal based around his own coin, the Akoin. Megacompanies like Facebook and countries like Russia are now trying to create crypto rather than kill it. Regardless of which coins pass the test of time, digital currency has legs. It is here to stay. All the market has to do is attract people in.