With the recent dive in cryptos, it may sound like a bubble bursting. But some investors are still optimistic and are prepared to ride it out. Aaron Batalion, a partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, said he expected to see more 50% price jumps in ether, with big returns down the road.

“Over the next five to 10 years, I believe it will be worth 10 or 100 times its current value,” Batalion said.

Matt Galligan, a serial entrepreneur and investor in ether, said he was also looking to the five-year mark, when he expects the platform to have matured to the point when it has a lot of uses.

“There’s going to be a lot of froth and volatility.”

Ether is the unit of currency in Ethereum. It’s a token that can be exchanged for services on the platform. While often compared to bitcoin, ether is not actually a competing currency.

“When you invest in ether, you are not actually doing anything — you are holding ammo, which will allow you to execute code when there is code worth being executed on the platform,” Weiler said.

In the meantime, though, you have to be prepared for a lot of volatility. The price of ether shot up this spring, rising from less than $20 a digital coin in March to an all-time high of $420 in midday trading in the middle of June, according to Global Digital Asset Exchange, the primary Ether-trading platform.

In May alone, it rose to nearly $230 an ether from less than $90. In recent weeks, though, investors have been selling off the digital currency.

It sank to as low as $175.56 earlier this week, according to GDAX, before rebounding. In recent trading on Wednesday, it was at $208.87.

It is this possibility that is keeping some investors in the game.