Cryptocurrency — the universe of more than 10,000 digital currencies powered by public, permanent databases of information — is everywhere. How do you feel about it?

Are you a crypto optimist who believes these decentralized and largely unregulated currencies will shape our political and economic future for the better?

Or are you among the movement’s skeptics, who argue that crypto is overhyped, and even potentially destructive to the economy and the environment?

Maybe this world feels too confusing for you to make a judgment yet. In “The Latecomer’s Guide to Crypto,” the technology columnist Kevin Roose writes that his most firmly held belief about crypto is that it is poorly explained. He writes:

Until fairly recently, if you lived anywhere other than San Francisco, it was possible to go days or even weeks without hearing about cryptocurrency.

Now, suddenly, it’s inescapable. Look one way, and there are Matt Damon and Larry David doing ads for crypto start-ups. Swivel your head — oh, hey, it’s the mayors of Miami and New York City, arguing over who loves Bitcoin more. Two N.B.A. arenas are now named after crypto companies, and it seems as if every corporate marketing team in America has jumped on the NFT — or nonfungible token — bandwagon. (Can I interest you in one of Pepsi’s new “Mic Drop” genesis NFTs? Or maybe something from Applebee’s “Metaverse Meals” NFT collection, inspired by the restaurant chain’s “iconic” menu items?)

Crypto! For years, it seemed like the kind of fleeting tech trend most people could safely ignore, like hoverboards or Google Glass. But its power, both economic and cultural, has become too big to overlook. Twenty percent of American adults, and 36 percent of millennials, own cryptocurrency, according to a recent Morning Consult survey. Coinbase, the crypto trading app, has landed on top of the App Store’s top charts at least twice in the past year. Today, the crypto market is valued at around $1.75 trillion — roughly the size of Google. And in Silicon Valley, engineers and executives are bolting from cushy jobs in droves to join the crypto gold rush.

As it’s gone mainstream, crypto has inspired an unusually polarized discourse. Its biggest fans think it’s saving the world, while its biggest skeptics are convinced it’s all a scam — an environment-killing speculative bubble orchestrated by grifters and sold to greedy dupes, which will probably crash the economy when it bursts.

I’ve been writing about crypto for nearly a decade, a period in which my own views have whipsawed between extreme skepticism and cautious optimism. These days, I usually describe myself as a crypto moderate, although I admit that may be a cop-out.

I agree with the skeptics that much of the crypto market consists of overvalued, overhyped and possibly fraudulent assets, and I am unmoved by the most utopian sentiments shared by pro-crypto zealots (such as the claim by Jack Dorsey, the former Twitter chief, that Bitcoin will usher in world peace).

But as I’ve experimented more with crypto — including accidentally selling an NFT for more than $500,000 in a charity auction last year — I’ve come to accept that it isn’t all a cynical money-grab, and that there are things of actual substance being built. I’ve also learned, in my career as a tech journalist, that when so much money, energy and talent flows toward a new thing, it’s generally a good idea to pay attention, regardless of your views on the thing itself.

Students, read the entire article, and then tell us:

• Do you consider yourself a crypto optimist, a crypto skeptic or neither? Why?

• Do you agree with Mr. Roose that crypto is “terribly explained”? Why or why not? How well do you feel like you understand crypto? How much did Mr. Roose’s explanations help?

• According to the article, what do proponents of cryptocurrency see as its benefits? Which of these arguments are most compelling to you, if any?

• Are you worried about any of the criticisms of crypto that Mr. Roose names, for example, its environmental impact or the fact that it might be attractive to extremists? How valid do you think these objections are?

• Do you hope to eventually, or do you already, own cryptocurrency or NFTs? Why or why not?

• What questions do you still have about the world of crypto?

Want more writing prompts? You can find all of our questions in our Student Opinion column. Teachers, check out this guide to learn how you can incorporate them into your classroom.

Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.