Almost $10K - $9924+ and counting

Bitcoin is almost 10000 USD a pop. This is serious.

"Unfortunately, I don't have anything interesting, intelligent or even funny to say."

That's no small statement from Wences Casares, the man often credited with waking up Silicon Valley to the opportunity of cryptocurrency. Indeed, Casares' loss for words appears to be one shared by early adopters and long-time technology enthusiasts as the price of bitcoin approaches $10,000.

A milestone long trumpeted as inevitable by the bitcoin faithful, those surveyed by CoinDesk expressed a range of emotions on what it would mean if and when bitcoin tops the key psychological barrier.

Charlie Shrem, entrepreneur and bitcoin advocate, responded by calling the prospect "amazing," while Zane Tackett, a veteran of the exchange sector called it simply "insane." Others sought to put meaning to the charts, suggesting that bitcoin's likely milestone signals a shift in the mainstream understanding of cryptocurrencies.

Jeremy Allaire, founder of bitcoin broker and blockchain payments startup Circle, for instance, sought to frame the price increase as an early signal for institutional investment in cryptocurrencies, a development he framed as beginning in earnest.