Ethereum, the world’s second-most valuable cryptocurrency, has seen its value skyrocket as investors and developers have sought different ways to use the technology introduced by bitcoin. But is it ready for the big time?

That’s what some are asking with its market capitalization briefly crossing $1.1 billion — up from $72 million at the beginning of 2016 — in mid-March. The price of a single ether token has surged from around $1 at the beginning of the year to more than $14 in just months.

Ethereum counts some of the world’s largest technology companies as believers, and regulators recently cleared the way for buyers in New York state to purchase tokens through a major cryptocurrency exchange. A March New York Times profile quoted one of Ethereum’s creators as calling the platform the “crystallization” of the vision bitcoin put forward.

Read the full article here.