Dogecoin, NFTs, Ethereum and hard fork. You’d be forgiven for not knowing what these, and other detailed terms in the world of cryptocurrency (aka crypto) mean.

Driven by an uptick in Millennial investing, the clear trend of digital finance, cryptocurrency is finally having its big moment in the spotlight. Long thought of as a passing fad used only by scammers, cryptocurrency has grown to shocking new heights in recent years, in several ways. Whether it be adoption, popularity or market cap, cryptocurrency is now seen as increasingly normalized.

Americans, most notably, have a front seat to the widespread acceptance of crypto. In a 2021 Bankrate study, 9% of respondents said that cryptocurrency is their preferred investment, up from 4% in 2019 and only 2% in 2018.  Nearly half of Millennials are now comfortable owning cryptocurrencies, “compared to 37 percent of Generation X and only 22 percent of Baby Boomers.”

The trend is not just linked to Millennials. Adoption by major U.S. corporations as a form of payment, is key to fueling crypto’s broader rise, and companies like AT&T, PayPal, and Starbucks now accept crypto and lend it their credibility—with AMC Theatres announcing it, too, will accept this so-called “digital gold” as a form of payment by year-end.

Phenomenal Market Capitalization

The twin phenomena of Americans increasingly becoming comfortable with owning cryptocurrency—and businesses accepting it as a form of payment—has resulted in tremendous and, at times, unpredictable, jumps in their market capitalization.

Bitcoin, the giant of the group currently boasting a $1.18 trillion valuation, saw a massive price increase in 2020. In 2021, the second-largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum, saw huge price increases, helping it to coast to its $533 billion in holdings as of their writing.

Even much smaller “meme” coins, such as Dogecoin and Shiba Inu respectively, command huge followings—and there is literally no telling where the next big crypto will be, where it will come from, or what will fuel the interest.

Princes and oil magnates in Abu Dhabi have gone on record saying they hope United Arab Emirates becomes the cryptocurrency capital of the world.

What cannot be denied is that as cryptocurrencies becomes more widespread, cryptocurrency investments will command the same respect as investing in the stock market or in the mutual funds in one’s 401(k).

However, the question remains, will cryptocurrencies remain the Wild, Wild West of investments and continue to trade on splintered, private platforms—or will one or several regulators step forward to curb the madness?

Coins like Ethereum are traded via a decentralized, worldwide platform that is part of a wider blockchain network.

As competition heats up among cryptos, some are embracing certain causes or niches. Stellar Lumens (XLM) is focused on helping individuals without bank accounts move money around “at low costs and high speeds,” according to Yahoo Finance. This could play a huge role in global remittances. MoneyGram recently announced it is accepting Stellar Lumens as a form of payment.

In sum, the three trends of adoption by businesses, increased popularity among investors, and market capitalization, have caused the wider cryptocurrency market to move out of the shadows and into the mainstream.

We have yet to see where cryptocurrencies will take us.