2017 is the year of cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin jumped from a few million dollars' worth and broke records by crossing the $20,000 mark. Ethereum's Ether is higher than ever. New currencies are popping up every day and people are buying them in a frenzy.

So, are these codes of programming real money or a fad that will die in time? Let's review:

SAVING MONEY

Have you ever sent money to someone through banking channels? Different banks have different protocols, but all have one thing in common: They charge you for it. Yes, you might say that your bank gives you a few fee transactions a month, but it puts other restrictions where you are forced to pay for those particular services.

With digital currencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, you still have to pay to transfer money over to someone, but the transaction "charges" you donate to miners are a lot lower than what conventional banks offer you.

SAVING TIME

Sending cryptocurrency to a person living in any region of the planet is as simple as composing an email. All you need to do is to ask for the recipient's address, log on your wallet and ship the desired amount. You may go about doing whatever you do in your daily life and the money will be moved.

UNIVERSAL CURRENCY

OK, so the title is misleading a little. There are tons of cryptocurrency on the market, so you and the recipient might not have exactly the same currency wallet. In case the receiver is flexible (and you have the persuasive power), then they can set up an electronic wallet for your money in no time.

The most commonly accepted money is Bitcoin and if you have it, you won't face any problem of different money acceptance.

INVESTMENT

With financial crises everywhere and the inflation rate increasing quickly, you will one day find that those bucks you saved do not have much purchasing power within a decade or so. The wise thing is to put them in something that will not depreciate over time. Enter Cryptocurrencies! Mostly due to the way these monies are programmed, they will be very limited in flow, unlike paper based currency where you can just print more.

A very simple case of supply and demand will always guarantee that cryptocurrencies will possess an ever increasing value