[rjknight]

I understand why it is desirable! But why is Bitcoin better for this than, say, an index fund?

Even in the case of an index fund, you are ultimately buying shares of businesses which decreases the cost of financing for those businesses and helps them to grow. It's not as impactful as an angel investment in a startup, but it still means that your outcome is linked to successful economic activity that you helped to finance. In the case of Bitcoin, no such activity takes place, so where is the reward coming from?

[seibelj]

They are not the same thing. Investing in an index fund is a bet that over your holding period your rate of return will be positive for the companies invested in. But recessions happen, and if you don’t want exposure to recessions then you don’t want an index fund.

Furthermore it is non-trivial for global citizens, especially those in corrupt and financially moronic countries like Argentina, Turkey, and Lebanon to get access to a US index fund. Bitcoin is global and apps exist for every platform and country to help people buy it.

One way to look at Bitcoin is that it is an improved version of gold. By your logic, why would anyone want to hold gold? But many do. Bitcoin is an internet-native digital asset that acts like gold but has many interesting properties in how it is custodies and transmitted that make it different if not superior to gold.

Clearly what someone doesn’t want to hold is cash - whether USD and especially fiat currency in mismanaged countries like Venezuela. In the USA it is much easier to avoid holding cash than in other countries.

[diegocerdan]

The amount of human work possible is limited and so are raw material.

By investing you are giving somebody money that when used will make access to those bought resources more expensive to other agents.

That is why in the perfect system you don't want to put "all money to work". You want the perfect balance between investing and saving.

Savings allow you to preserve your value into the future till you detect a worthy investing opportunity.

Sadly enough, the present world has lost most important tools to save and preserve value: money and government bonds. Thus obliging all agents with value into risky investing instead of safely save for the future.

The situation explains why gold and Bitcoin soared last decade: economic agents need some store of value to park their savings.

[alwillis]

I’m quoting @Travis_Kling:

"Bitcoin is a non-sovereign, hard-capped supply, global, immutable, decentralized digital store of value. It’s an insurance policy against monetary and fiscal policy irresponsibility from central banks and governments globally."