One online dictionary defines the word “fluke” as an “unlikely chance occurrence, especially a surprising piece of luck.” Alternative descriptions include chance, coincidence, and accident. All of these synonyms are accurate adjectives for the cryptocurrency market.

For the record, I am not cryptocurrency hater. In fact, my stake in Litecoin – a smaller cousin of Bitcoin – has turned out to be a most wonderful fluke.

However, my foray into digital assets was done more as an experiment rather than for pure investment purposes. Why? Because to learn how to swim you can’t read about it, you have to jump into the water! Similarly, I felt the best way to learn about cryptos was to put some money on the line and to jump in. To hear about how my experiment has fared thus far, be sure to listen to my podcast episode titled “Adventures in Cryptocurrency Land.”

Not even bitcoin’s anonymous inventor(s) or its loudest advocates foresaw how much of a global force digital assets would become. Never mind their cocky overconfidence. The truth is bitcoin was and has always been a crapshoot.

Back in 2008 when bitcoin was born, it was designed to serve as a country-less alternative to fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar (UUP), British Pound (FXB), euro (FXE) and other currencies. Today, bitcoin has morphed into a multi-billion dollar trading vehicle that’s bought and sold on unregulated coin exchanges scattered across the globe. Yet, just a tiny minority today use bitcoin and other cryptos for its originally intended purpose of hedging away fiat currency exposure.

Relative to other financial markets, the $500 billion cryptocurrency market is still a drop in the bucket. Moreover, bitcoin is the eldest cryptocurrency and it’s just 10-years old.

Ultimately, there’s no denying the power of digital assets and the blockchain technology behind it, along with other alternative technological solutions to real-world business problems that cryptos offer.