That’s right. While you were focusing on activity at the very top of the market, hoping that Bitcoin had “bottomed out” and was due to start its next climb, or scouring the lower ends of the market for that “undiscovered” gem that could deliver life-changing gains by revolutionizing the supply chain of goat milk from local farmers in Minnesota, you missed Tezos. Like the girl at the side of the classroom in college, quietly studying away and ignoring the drama of the cool kids on the back row and the desperately keen kids at the front trying to gain the approval the professor, Tezos has been in the background getting the hard work done. And now it’s paying off. Bigtime.

This isn’t an article about the ins and outs of Tezos from a technological standpoint. There’s plenty of resources out there which explain those details or give a broad overview, and a solid and welcoming community which is happy to help newcomers find their way around. Suffice to say, Tezos is a third-generation core blockchain project that’s actually delivered on what it promised. The mainnet has been up and running flawlessly since launch, and is demonstrating handsomely that proof of stake works: the network is decentralized, democratic, and in good health. In recent months, there’s been a steady flow of major developments and announcements, and projects looking for a strong and stable blockchain upon which to build have started to take notice.

Blockchain in general is still in its infancy. Much is owed to Bitcoin for blazing a trail. Ethereum, too, for showing us a brief glimpse of what could be possible. But the fact remains, until the underlying infrastructure matures — the core blockchains such as Ethereum and Tezos upon which businesses and applications can be developed — true adoption will not and cannot gain a foothold. What’s needed is a platform (or small group of platforms) that meets the needs of users, developers, businesses, visionaries, and investors. Tezos meets those criteria, and is well-positioned to deliver the functionality needed to build a vibrant and useful blockchain-based ecosystem. Unlike most blockchain projects, Tezos is enviously well-funded, backed by multiple teams of expert developers, and has adopted a conservative and intelligent approach to management, providing financial support to the stuff that matters: high quality projects, network development, research, education, and ensuring that Tezos is here to stay, no matter what the future brings. It’s not wasting money on armies of shills, throwing money at exchanges in return for listings — Tezos is already listed on quality exchanges, making it accessible to those who want to join — nor engaging in superficial hype. It’s a slow-burner, and Tezos is playing the long game.

But . . . but . . . but . . . the lawsuit? Here’s the bottom line: it’s a non-starter. Speaking as a lawyer with many years of experience in securities, here’s how class action lawsuits work. Class action lawyers look for targets with deep pockets (such as Tezos, with its massive fundraising effort in 2017), look for any potential ways to file claims to grab a slice of the pie, no matter how flimsy, then roll the dice. In some cases, just one successful class action lawsuit can make a fortune for the firm, so they cast a wide net and file many “Hail Mary” lawsuits, all in the hope that just one will stick and early retirement can be had. And that’s exactly what happened with Tezos. Lawyers saw a pile of money and wanted to dig their hands in. Recent revelations have highlighted that the plaintiffs and lawyers were doing precisely what was described above, and it’s highly likely that the lawsuit will be dismissed. Not only that, but district court judges don’t typically like treading on the toes of lawmakers or regulatory bodies who are trying to create legislation — in this case, the SEC. Furthermore, there has been no harm whatsoever caused to the plaintiffs; they are (and always have been since the release of the mainnet) able to exit the project with no loss. The lawsuit, to cut a long story short, will fail. The network is already up and running and can’t be undone. Whatever the outcome of the lawsuit (and it’s likely to be a dismissal), Tezos is here to stay. And in the highly unlikely event of a ruling against Tezos, the effects won’t be limited to Tezos; it’ll affect almost every other blockchain project. So if you’re staying away from Tezos because of “the lawsuit”, you won’t find shelter in any other project.

The future remains bright for Tezos. Will it be the next Ethereum? No. It’s part of a new generation of blockchain projects with broader goals, and has little interest in becoming a hotbed for scam ICOs and other frivolities. But does it have a very real possibility of becoming a major player in core blockchain infrastructure in the near future, delivering returns such as those seen during the rise of Ethereum? Absolutely. Prices remain low, but have been consistently rising over recent months. And the potential for significant increases in price is huge. While Bitcoin and Ethereum have already seen their massive gains as they reached maturity, Tezos has yet to experience life in the crypto fast lane. Could Bitcoin see tenfold gains again? Of course. Could Ethereum see similar increases in price? Absolutely. But are either of those likely to achieve hundredfold increases given the fact that they’ve already done so? No. But Tezos can.

Crypto is a marathon, not a sprint. As mentioned earlier, the broader blockchain ecosystem is in its infancy. The core technology, no matter which blockchains you’re involved with, is still not yet at the point where it can support true widescale adoption. But it will, eventually: the need and desire for decentralization is growing on a daily basis, and blockchain isn’t fading away anytime soon. The winners and losers haven’t emerged though. Chances are, there’ll be a small handful of highly successful blockchains that “win”, while many will fall by the wayside as the marathon progresses. Do we need Bitcoin and a handful of Bitcoin clones? No. Only Bitcoin is here to stay; the others will fade into obscurity. Will massive centralized blockchain networks like EOS (which are, in reality, merely old-fashioned central ledgers dressed up in blockchain clothing) remain relevant, despite their current success? No; centralization is becoming irrelevant and highly undesirable. And will your GOAT tokens ever make it to the top ten on CoinMarketCap? Of course not; they, along with every other “brilliant” ICO from 2017, are simply ridiculous ideas in light of the fact that they’re built on technology unfit for purpose. On the other hand, is there room at the top table for a true third-generation blockchain with the unique functionality and growing maturity of Tezos? Absolutely.

So if your portfolio doesn’t currently contain Tezos, you should really be asking yourself why. If your portfolio still contains niche tokens languishing in the lower end of the market, none of which are realistically ever going to make any significant contribution to the wider blockchain ecosystem other than the occasional pump and dump before they collapse, perhaps it’s time to exit those while you still can and get into Tezos, a stable, growing, and class-leading project that’s quietly delivering results each and every day. Am I advocating for dumping all your BTC or ETH and going all-in on XTZ? No. Merely suggesting that you take a realistic look at the future, objectively evaluate the projects you’re involved with, glance at the markets, and adjust accordingly. If that means cutting your losses elsewhere and getting on-board an up-and-coming project like Tezos, so be it. And if that means diversifying out of BTC and ETH and putting some into a strong project with a working mainnet and a huge possible upside like XTZ, then perhaps that’s a good move too. It’s your call.

It’s still early. You haven’t missed the boat — yet. So don’t be that person who, this time next year, is still day trading small cap ERC-20 goat milk tokens, stuck with stagnating giants of yesteryear, or waiting on your projects to deliver working mainnets that are delayed yet again or mere shadows of what was promised, wishing that you’d instead bought Tezos at its current sub-dollar price and being one of the smart investors who made the sensible choice.