[solosoyokaze]

There is a ton of utility in crypto. Here's one scenario I've never seen discussed but is absolutely real:

Imagine you're an abused spouse or child who needs money to escape their situation. Opening up a bank account isn't an option for a lot of people, but anyone can instantly open a crypto "account" and start stashing a nest egg away from the prying eyes of their oppressors. Crypto is the only option for this, and I've seen it successfully used like this multiple times.

The existing banking system favors those in power and those in good standing in the existing systems. If you're underage or financially dependent on an abuse spouse, it's a lot more obvious why you might want a way to store and transact money outside of that system.

[thehappypm]

This scenario is hard to imagine being worth a trillion dollars.

[solosoyokaze]

Think of it this way. How many people on earth can't easily get a bank account (people under the age of 18 included)? It's a huge number that suggests massive scale in that use-case alone.

[hanniabu]

What about wealthy individuals that want to divest some of their wealth from the influence of nation states. When a country struggles that has direct impact on the currency and we're seeing that even in the US as the money supply increased 22% last year and will be up to 40% with the recent stimulus. This also isn't just and issue with the US. I think it was Belgium (?) that recently reported negative interest rates. Countries have also started divesting away from USD in their reserves since Trump was president. So this is a real concern that people/governments have that this offers a solution to.

BTW gold doesn't solve this because when you buy it it's being held by someone else, whom is tied to the country it resides in, and you're back to square one. Even if you were to buy it physically and keep it in your own safe you're still stuck with the same problems because it's not portable. Bitcoin is portable.

[nmfisher]

Where is this nest egg coming from?

[solosoyokaze]

Friends, supporters, paid work... an increasing number of sources as more and more crypto infrastructure comes online.