EXCLUSIVE— With bitcoin’s price over $15,000, and continuing to rise, it seems as though the currency has finally hit its mainstream moment.

The currency’s price has more than doubled since the beginning of the year, and much of that spike has occurred just within the past couple of weeks. It has not gone unnoticed by the public.

In other words, cryptocurrency could be on its way to losing its aura of mystery: bitcoin’s price climb, first over the long-awaited $10,000 hurdle and now well on its way to $20K, has prompted a slew of articles, tutorials, and speculative discussions surrounding the digital asset. Buzzfeed even did a video about how to invest in it:

The media company’s video has over 450,000 views, after it was published earlier this week.

Aside from an increase in media coverage, it seems as though many consumers are following through on their curiosity and investing in bitcoin: this week Coinbase, after experiencing heavy lag due to high volumes on the network, has become the most-downloaded app for the U.S. in the Apple Store.

Coinbase, one of the largest bitcoin exchanges in the world, is a service that allows users to easily buy and sell bitcoin, though as noted above, its network is a bit strained at the moment.

As a token of value not backed by central banks or governments, many in the crypto community consider bitcoin to be a valuable investment asset to grow wealth (particularly as, unlike many investment assets, market uncertainly only seems to fuel bitcoin forward).

Will the increase in attention bring more consumers to invest in the currency as a mainstream financial asset?

It’s certainly possible, but while bitcoin’s current rise does appear to show off the advantages of the blockchain-based currency, it hasn’t quite erased old concerns of hacks and volatility — Nicehash lost a cool $70 million in a hack yesterday — or created new math, despite the assertions of some on Twitter:

Bitcoin now at $16,600.00. Those of you in the old school who believe this is a bubble simply have not understood the new mathematics of the Blockchain, or you did not cared enough to try. Bubbles are mathematically impossible in this new paradigm. So are corrections and all else pic.twitter.com/go9v0w92zk

— John McAfee (@officialmcafee) December 8, 2017

Bitcoin is currently valued at $15,849, as of 10 A.M ET today.

To learn more about the latest developments in cryptocurrency and blockchain, join us on March 5-6, 2018 at the Parc 55 in San Francisco for Bank Innovation 2018. Click here to register.