Now is a great time to be an investor in Bitcoin, the world’s most popular and widely traded cryptocurrency, thanks in large part to its recent massive surge in value.

Fortune noted in 2015 that Bitcoin would reach momentum. But 2016 was an even more important year for Bitcoin, which reached a number of milestones. Perhaps the most tell-tale sign of good things to come was the total number of Bitcoin wallets increasing between two and three-fold in 12 months.

Despite all the nay-sayers and critics, the Bitcoin economy is steadily pushing closer to the mainstream. Big media outlets are devoting more airtime to covering crypto market developments, and more financial players from all classes of society are realizing its potential to secure, grow, and diversify their assets.

The turbulent geopolitical and economic climate of 2016 has been a crucible for traditional and crypto economies alike, and it looks like the Bitcoin is poised to come out ahead. Recent economic turmoil in developing countries, most notably India, has damaged public trust in traditional fiat currencies, and many people now regard Bitcoin as an alternative safe from artificial devaluation and the whim of government authorities. In its capacity to protect assets from volatility Bitcoin can actually be more effective than gold or silver in these developing areas, since physical assets can be confiscated or stolen more easily.

The perceived advantages of Bitcoin in developing economies has been one of the strongest drivers of increasing its value in the past year, and investors in highly developed economies have taken note. The massive economic uncertainties that loom in the coming year, triggered by major events like Brexit, the weakening Euro, and Donald Trump’s election, combined with Bitcoin’s demonstrated ability to thrive off of economic uncertainty, will be sure to make 2017 a momentous year for cryptocurrency.