Is bitcoin a legitimate asset or a super-bubble waiting to implode?

Most widely used digital currency crossed $8,200 mark on friday and is up more than 900 per cent in 2017

As prices for the cryptocurrency skyrocket, investors and pundits are increasingly taking sides.

Whether you’re a backer or a detractor, what’s not in doubt is bitcoin’s dizzying rally this year. The most widely used digital currency crossed the $8,000 mark and is up more than 900 per cent in 2017. It’s managed to whip past the $150 bn total value mark despite governmental crackdowns and mainstream market skepticism.

With the rhetoric for and against heating up this week amid bitcoin’s barreling gains, here’s a look at where some big names in finance stand — from those who see it as the natural evolution of money, to the naysayers waiting for the asset to crash and burn.