Despite the many adverse comments from institutional financiers and governments on cryptocurrencies, some experts think it won't be long before they're joining in the party.

In a January 8th interview with CNBC, a senior advisor with MIT Media Lab's Digital Currency Initiative predicted an increase in mainstream institutional interest this year. Michael Casey, speaking at a global financial services conference in China, said that while financial institutions like banks might be lingering on the sidelines, those who dealt in more volatile market trading, such as hedge fund managers, were more likely to be getting on board.

The volatility of the cryptocurrency markets would have an inherent attraction for the more aggressive investors, Casey said. However, he didn't imply that they would be taking on the whole idea of blockchain and the underlying technology behind the distributed ledger and crypto system.

 2018 could be the year of the big turn-around for digital currencies, now that what was once considered a niche asset created for nefarious activities on the so-called 'dark web,' is emerging into the light of mainstream financial trading. With the assets now being traded on the books of the Chicago Futures markets, and the New York Stock Exchange filing for bitcoin ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds), it seems clear that cryptocurrency is soon going to play a much bigger role in global finance.