With Bitcoin and altcoins exploding as a whole this entire year, and particularly in recent weeks, individuals from all backgrounds are beginning to take an interest in cryptocurrency. Every day, formerly hesitant individuals are making the transition into the world of crypto, as seen by Coinbase’s surge in usage.

Since the historic downfall of Mt. Gox, Coinbase has emerged and established itself as the primary means of entering the cryptocurrency markets. Every day, thousands of people interested in cryptocurrency turn to Coinbase as their helping hand. Currently, Coinbase holds the #1 spot on iOS’s app chart, which means Apple users worldwide are downloading Coinbase more than any other application offered on the App Store.

Anyone monitoring popular crypto communities such as /r/cryptocurrency has also been exposed to countless conversations about new investors. Threads reach the front page every day explaining how one’s grandparent, hairdresser, or former classmate approached him or her about crypto. Other posts are written by new investors who are eager to introduce themselves as the newest members of this revolutionary community.

The huge surge in Coinbase’s popularity is also widely speculated to be the driving force behind Litecoin’s (and to a lesser extent, Ethereum’s) impressive rallies in past days. Many community members and the investors themselves have explained that people have decided to purchase Litecoin due to the fact it is by far the cheapest of the three currencies Coinbase offers. This speculation is confirmed by GDAX, Coinbase’s crypto market, which tops the LTC charts with over US$600 million in 24-hour trading volume for its LTC/USD pair alone, accounting for over 20% of all LTC volume.

While this wave of investment certainly bodes well for crypto, skeptics argue that these new investors may be setting the foundation of a major bubble. Supporters of this theory point to arguably foolish behavior on the part of new investors such as taking out student loans and mortgages to buy cryptocurrency. Beyond that, the fact that some technologically illiterate individuals are beginning to put money into crypto shakes confidence on a fundamental level.

Although the status of the overall market is widely contested, most can agree that the stage of smart investment has moved at least into the institutional investment phase. Whether this stage, too, has shifted to general public investment will only be known with the passage of time. Regardless, more individuals are entering the sphere of cryptocurrency today than ever before, and at least for the future, adoption does not seem likely to slow.