Well, it’s no major mystery WHY you get religiosity and post how rationalizations. Those with Bitcoin, especially those with a LOT of their net worth tied up in Bitcoin, will work the hardest to protect that investment.
Of course, rich people have always done that (post hoc justifications for their wealth), but when that wealth is not codified and protected by anything other than speculative value, it just increases the volume of that effect even more. The lack of technical fundamental superiority of Bitcoin vs other approaches (and no need to mention alternatives, y’all know them) increases the fervor of defense of Bitcoin as that’s basically the only thing keeping it up.
Anyway, as long as Bitcoin has perceived social value, it may still have niche uses like allowing you to get money out of Venezuela. And maybe slightly cheaper than wiring large amounts of money.
So actually you’re left with just: 1) pure social perceived value and 2) small use case when you have utter failure of the formal financial system. The first case is a self-licking ice cream cone, but... Unfortunately, #2 could end up being a self-licking ice cream cone, too, because now you have a bunch of people kind of invested in the formal system failing. I’m not really worried about it as the number of Bitcoin true believers is low vs the total population (and there have often been such people with a stake in system failure), but it is something to keep in mind.
But not everyone just acts mechanically in response to financial incentives, as there are some cryptocurrency advocates who see the need to shore up the formal system and advocate for that.
Of course, rich people have always done that (post hoc justifications for their wealth), but when that wealth is not codified and protected by anything other than speculative value, it just increases the volume of that effect even more. The lack of technical fundamental superiority of Bitcoin vs other approaches (and no need to mention alternatives, y’all know them) increases the fervor of defense of Bitcoin as that’s basically the only thing keeping it up.
Anyway, as long as Bitcoin has perceived social value, it may still have niche uses like allowing you to get money out of Venezuela. And maybe slightly cheaper than wiring large amounts of money.
So actually you’re left with just: 1) pure social perceived value and 2) small use case when you have utter failure of the formal financial system. The first case is a self-licking ice cream cone, but... Unfortunately, #2 could end up being a self-licking ice cream cone, too, because now you have a bunch of people kind of invested in the formal system failing. I’m not really worried about it as the number of Bitcoin true believers is low vs the total population (and there have often been such people with a stake in system failure), but it is something to keep in mind.
But not everyone just acts mechanically in response to financial incentives, as there are some cryptocurrency advocates who see the need to shore up the formal system and advocate for that.