Once dismissed as fanatics, the bitcoin bulls must be feeling vindicated. They made an accurate call on the cryptocurrency’s potential for gains — witness the staggering rally under way — and were right, at least in part, for the right reasons. 

When bitcoin was all the rage at the start of this decade, many serious investors and traditional economists spurned it as a useless fad — even a fraud. Their scorn, seemingly confirmed by its crash in 2022, persists today while the currency separates itself from the pack. 

Back in 2021, bitcoin was often grouped alongside other favourites of the day-trading crowd, such as unprofitable tech and meme stocks. Today those other bubblets are trading on average at half their peaks, while bitcoin recently hit an all-time high. It is extremely unusual for a bubble to burst and then recover to reach new heights so quickly, and suggests that something real and sustainable is going on.