I wonder about the history of gold. When it was new, it was only used for cheap jewelry, since you can't create tools with it. Then people somehow decided that it was valuable.
My question is, was there ever a time in human history, when everyone decided "Well, gold is not really worth anything!"? Of course, the value of gold fluctuates a bit, but was there ever a drop to zero? Why, why not?
Obviously the value of gold has dropped to zero for certain people. If you were in a sinking boat and you had to dump the gold overboard or drown, you'd dump it. It would actually have a negative value in that circumstance. Similarly Bitcoin value can go negative as well. If you were unable to trade with it for whatever reason and a stiff legal penalty was the result of possession, then you'd crush and flush your thumb drive.