[erwan]

>But virtually all money is being made on being a broker for people speculating on Bitcoin as if they're buying gold, with no significant intent to use bitcoin.

You have to wrap your head around the idea that the main way to use a store-of-value is simply by holding it. Holding is using!

[qeternity]

Store of value is something that roughly tracks inflation. Bitcoiners constantly parrot this label to keep the number go up engine alive.

Nobody buys Bitcoin because they want to have the same amount of purchasing power next year (what a terrible investment objective anyway). They buy it because they want 100x the purchasing power. This works until it doesn’t.

[CPLX]

This of course has the unstated premise that Bitcoin is the best option for a store of value, or even a good or acceptable option for that.

It's really just not. It's wildly unstable and still far more complicated than putting the money in really any other kind of financial instrument.

The thing that it is absolutely amazing for is speculation. Which means you're basically correct in a sense: speculating is using.

The problem is that the use case of speculation is completely different than the use case of storing value. In face they are fundamentally in tension.

So if the speculation use case disappears the store of value use case will not suddenly replace it. A scenario where bitcoin is no longer useful as a speculative instrument would destroy any possible utility it has as a store of value as well, since a store of value needs to, you know, actually keep the value stored rather than collapse in price.

[dnautics]

Bitcoin isn't the best store f value, it just has to be a orthogonal store of value to dollars, euros, yuan, stocks, etc, which share the same systemic risk. It's just the most liquid thing in that category (vs real estate, gold) and people are willing to mess around, because TINA.

[Tenoke]

>It's wildly unstable and still far more complicated than putting the money in really any other kind of financial instrument.

That's simply not true. Where I am (Germany) - it's way simpler to buy Bitcoin than stocks, let alone something more exotic especially if you want to invest a small sum. Tax implications and fees are also currently easier to work out (at smaller sums). It's been the same in other countries I've lived (e.g. UK) for over 5 years.

[eric_cc]

> s the best option for a store of value, or even a good or acceptable option for that. It's really just not.

Completely disagree with this point which invalidates everything else you say.

Your opinion doesn't match reality. The reality is that it's been a great store of value since its inception. Anybody that has ever bought and held Bitcoin, at any time during its entire history, has had a positive return.

[passtheglass]

I think bitcoin in specific doesn't matter here, crypto in general is here to stay and there is a very high value on trust/goodwill for financial exchanges of any kind, not to mention all the regulatory barriers these days.

[barrkel]

The value is conditional on ongoing demand.