[em3rgent0rdr]

Bitcoin does has an intrinsic ability: transacting in bitcoin gives the user power to make secure, irreversible updates on a trust-less distributed ledger.

That ability gives it value for people who need that. For some people and use-cases, that ability is comparable to how gold is valuable for its ascetic and chemical properties.

[bildung]

Isn't that true for any kind of barter? If two parties barter with lumber and gold, the transaction is also irreversible. The ledger is just an implementation detail.

[hombre_fatal]

Unlike dollar bills and gold, you can own and move bitcoin without putting it in your pocket. You can walk across the border with it. You don't have to declare it for the crime of carrying more than $10,000 like you do with cash.

[em3rgent0rdr]

You can't store lumber or gold in your head in a brainwallet or in a securely-encrypted digital file. And the lumber or gold ownership relies on a legal authority to recognize and protect the ownership.

[Jon_Lowtek]

"brainwallet" might be my cyberpunk thing of the week ^^

[lottin]

From what I gather, the ledger is what makes it possible for bitcoins to be owned. Without a ledger anyone could claim any bitcoin their own. If my understanding is correct, you're basically saying that bitcoins have the ability to be owned, an ability most physical assets already have. Not comparable at all with the actual intrinsic properties of gold.