Digital currency bitcoin has surged past $1,700, hitting a new all-time high after Minneapolis Federal Bank President Neel Kashkari mentioned that its underlying blockchain technology has more potential than bitcoin itself.

In a speech at the MN High Tech Association, Kashkari said he “thinks the sentiment has shifted in the markets,” and within the Federal Reserve.

“I would say I think conventional wisdom now is that blockchain and the underlying technology is probably more interesting and has more potential than maybe bitcoin does by itself,” said the Minneapolis Fed Bank president.

Analysts at ABI Research echoed that sentiment, saying that blockchain’s potential as a market beyond cryptocurrency can be analyzed against venture capital funding, which hit $500 million globally in 2016.