"Because Bitcoin is a decentralised, peer-to-peer currency network, there is no central hub or governing authority that can game the system. People hold their own money, not the banks."
Ms Ward agrees: "Its popularity was fuelled further by a fundamental distrust of centralised, sovereign monetary policy.
"To place this development in its proper context, the desire to develop and use cryptocurrency arises out of the same loss of faith in institutions that is one of the defining qualities of the generation that hit the market in the great recession.
"For inter-connected individuals, cryptocurrency puts more control in the individual user's hands than in the hands of politicians and government bureaucrats."
Dangerous drivers
But not all the drivers have been positive ones that help individuals manage their own money outside of government policy or banking legislation.
Mr Pieper adds: "This anti-establishment genesis also led some people to leapfrog outside the rule of law entirely.
"Fueled by Bitcoin, the drug-trading site Silkroad arose, and a shadow of illicitness has hung over the entire crypto space since. However, while Silkroad is long gone, crypto is not."
Boiler rooms have also been contributing to the inexorable rises we saw in 2017.
According to Finra, the US Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, "pump and dump" boiler rooms have been pushing crypto investments to people who have little to invest and do not understand the basics of risk and reward.
In a statement in December, Gerri Walsh, senior vice-president for investor education at Finra, warned of "unrealistic predictions of exponential returns and unsubstantiated claims being made through press releases, spam email, telemarketing calls, or posted online or in social media, largely by unlicensed individuals and firms."
According to Ms Walsh: "It can be difficult for investors to avoid the lure of the cryptocurrency markets, especially when prominent people express interest in it, and news reports and social media tout the promise of guaranteed quick fortunes and skyrocketing returns.
"But it is important to do your research. Even when legitimate companies enter a hot, new sector, con artists almost always follow suit."
Social media has indeed played its part. Influencers - Twitter or Instagram users with hundreds of thousands of followers - are often paid to promote and extol the virtues of various types of good or service.
Many influencers have bigged up the use of crypto, showingcasing their lavish lifestyles as a result of their speculative investments or life choices.
Johnny Ward is an influencer on Twitter. According to his Twitter profile he has made "$1m or 2" - who's counting? We'd never heard of him before, but when he noticed some posts by FTAdviser on Bitcoin, he wades into the debate, commenting that nobody should take life advice from anyone who has to work for a salary.
