Would I invest heavily in bitcoin? No. Do I think that cryptocurrency has a place in the future of the global economy? Absolutely.

I have worked in the payment industry and the current model is very outdated. Credit cards, banks and payment processors are essentially rent collectors for an infrastructure that could be totally replaced by bitcoin to the tune of anywhere from 1.5-3% of transactions. With many brick and mortar businesses out there operating on margins of 10% or less - this can be effectively 15-30% of profits. The opportunity for cryptocurrency to eliminate this is very exciting.

The jury is out on whether bitcoin will be the cryptocurrency that prevails long term, but the innovation behind it is essentially open source which is why so many cryptocurrencies are right in line if it ever fails.

It's a classic two sided market dilemma - consumers need to get used to using it to purchase and businesses need to get used to receiving it. Both need the other and both require stability in price, which ironically will not happen until critical mass is reached. It's a bit of a chicken and egg situation.

But like the gold rush of 1849, the real winners will be the people selling picks and shovels. This is why there was a ton of VC interest in the field through last year.

Bonus: Andreas Antonopoulos is a great speaker who puts the concept into plain English. Check out some of these interviews if you want to learn more
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cexawnOlR8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnhGlgCm4MU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wwbzwUXfgc