[nullnilvoid]

Bitcoin is no more speculation than gold. Gold has its price. It is rarely used (I have not seen anyone exchanging value using gold). It cannot be eaten, drunk, lived in, or used as a tool (I guess you can use it as a weapon like a brick). Yes, it is used to make jewelries because it is expensive not because its intrinsic usability or functionalities (there are other metals or plastics that look better and weigh lighter than gold). Yet it is expensive. As a matter of fact, it is harder to use gold to exchange value than Bitcoin because you have to weigh gold and test its purity.

[tryingagainbro]

All other things aside, gold has a several thousand year history as being used as currency. To pay for grains, hostages, to buy protection, raise armies, pay people etc etc.

Bitcoin on the other hand...

[alexasmyths]

"It is rarely used "

???

If you walk down the street you will see literally hundreds of people wearing it on their fingers as Jewelry.

BTW - it even has a high degree of utility as Jewelry because it does not tarnish.

Also - it has some industrial use.

And yes, it's highly speculative, but nowhere near BTC.

And finally - it's use as a currency predates recorded history, across countless civilizations and cultures. Which counts for a lot of credibility.

[paxpelus]

If you walk down the street you will see literally hundreds of people owning it as an asset. BTW - it even has a high degree of utility as an asset because it cannot be tampered or destroyed. Also - it has some real life uses (Everledger, MiVote etc.) And yes, it's highly speculative. Imagine the first people using gold as a currency - crazy right?

[dragandj]

If you walk down the street of my city (population close to 2 million, outside US) you will probably see zero people using Bitcoin. If you are extremely lucky to find one that uses it, it is someone that speculates in it, and never ever thought of using it for "real" transactions.

[AstralStorm]

Gold can be tampered with. Debasing gold currencies (and other precious metal ones) has a long tradition. Likewise producing jewellery from cheap substitutes as opposed to 24k. As has plating with it.

[proee]

Our entire high-tech industry relies on gold because of its amazing physical properties. To say it's rarely used is not accurate.

If gold was less expensive, I'd use it for a roof on my house!

http://www.usesof.net/uses-of-gold.html

[indubitable]

And of all gold that's mined, what % of it goes towards industrial usage for its amazing physical properties?

[nullnilvoid]

Before high-tech industry even existed, gold was expensive. Clearly, the demand from high-tech industry did not make it expensive.

[alexasmyths]

It's a metal that does not tarnish, which makes it good for making pretty things, like monuments and Jewelry. That it is rare, gives it's high price.