Most finance market observers know of bitcoin, the prominent digital currency accepted by many as “real money.” But anybody who wants to understand more than the basics is battered with a confusing blizzard of words, such as “blockchain technology” and “distributed ledgers.”

And, of course, everything is virtual about the non-government-backed, and encrypted bitcoin, making it the domain of digital gnomes who speak in tongues as foreign as Sanskrit.

Despite the inherent obscurantism of the e-world, bitcoin has emerged as the world’s largest e-currency, even surviving a recurrent theme of large undulations in value. Despite the roller coasters, it must be conceded bitcoin has exploded higher over the years, dramatically unlike sagging fiat currencies issued by governments.

And, due in part to the bitcoin story, cryptocurrencies have been steadily gaining acceptance among financial advisers.

About four in 10 U.S. financial advisers reported in