It’s been called a “fraud” and a “folly” by the financial establishment and prestigious economists alike.

Those who trade in the hot cryptocurrency have been labelled “stupid” by one of banking’s biggest captains of industry.

But despite all the trash talk, Bitcoin just passed yet another record high-water mark.

RELATED: Bitcoin — Bubble mania or legit investing opportunity?

Bitcoin price’s rapid rise spurs detractors

After a rough few weeks that saw Asian markets cracking down on the popular cryptocurrency, Bitcoin is now flying high again, with a value above $5,000 for a single unit of the digital currency.

The latest move in price comes just a few short months after Bitcoin vaulted above the $3,000 mark.

Clearly, the cryptocurrency seems to know no mountain it cannot scale. Yet Bitcoin isn’t universally beloved by those in the financial know.

In September, JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon called Bitcoin a "fraud" and said that he would fire any employee for being "stupid" if they decided to trade in the cryptocurrency.

Meanwhile, Harvard economist Kenneth Rogoff recently said he expects crypotcurrencies as an asset class to thrive in the future. But he's not so rosy on the future of Bitcoin itself.

“It is folly to think that Bitcoin will ever be allowed to supplant central bank-issued money,” he noted.

“It is one thing for governments to allow small anonymous transactions with virtual currencies; indeed, this would be desirable. But it is an entirely different matter for governments to allow large-scale anonymous payments, which would make it extremely difficult to collect taxes or counter criminal activity.”

Is now the time to get into Bitcoin?

Those harsh criticisms not withstanding, you might be sitting there wondering, “Is now the time to get into Bitcoin? Or did I already miss the boat on this one?”

Here's a shocker: Money expert Clark Howard isn't averse to you putting a small percent of your overall portfolio into something like Bitcoin — or into something like gold or any other hot commodity that is subject to wild price fluctuations, for that matter.

But Clark maintains that the money you put in should only be on the order of 5% to 10% of your nest egg — no more!

By following that key rule, you can limit possible downside in the present while still participating in what could potentially become a new monetary standard in the future.

Just don’t take everything you’ve got and dump it into Bitcoin right now on the hopes that it goes even higher than $5,000!

That’s being a speculator, pure and simple — and that’s something Clark never encourages.

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