Despite its recent price whipsaw, bitcoin has gained legitimacy with investors and is here to stay, according to Spencer Bogart, a partner and head of research at Blockchain Capital.

Bitcoin has been on a jolting ride this year after soaring more than 1,200 percent in 2017. It rose 30.9 percent Thursday, to top $12,000 after plunging more than 30 percent earlier in the week. Other cryptocurrencies such as ripple, litecoin and ethereum, showed similar trading patterns. Bitcoin was trading around $11,570 later Thursday.

On CNBC's "Fast Money" on Thursday, Bogart said while many of the smaller digital currencies seem overpriced these days, which is "not a sign of a discerning market," bitcoin has demonstrated its ability to survive upheaval.

"There's a legion of people out there right now that see this as a great buying opportunity," he said.

Later on "Fast Money," Eliot Spitzer, former New York governor and attorney general, said he wants to make sure people understand what it is they own and are buying, but he doesn't own a single bitcoin. Volatility this extreme means there is something that isn't tied to intrinsic value. "I don't get it," he said.

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