So I've been thinking about the use of cryptocurrency in the real world. Because of it's current volatility, nobody seems to be willing to spend any crypto now other than for purposes of ICOs it seems?
Before BTC boomed, we hear the story of the guy spending 10000BTC on 2 pizzas. This was BTC being used in it's intended form.
Currently, BTC is only used as a store of value, which leaves other alts. From what I see in other alts, ethereum is spent on ICOs where the trade is one coin to another type of coin. Other than that, nobody advertises accepting payments in other currencies NOR do people seem to want to spend their cryptocurrencies on anything other than something that yields a profit.
So, the question is really about adoption. How do we expect cryptocurrencies to be adopted as valid payment methods when everyone is really using them as investment stocks? Will we only see proper adoption once the current greed and "quick buck" mentality subsides?
If things continue the way they are, then cryptocurrency will always and forever be destined as store of value assets and not really a currency that can be used in the real world?
IMO, bitcoin really is whatever people decide to use it. There is no absolute "intended" use. It has the properties of a currency, so you can't say that it's only a store of value. But right now, bitcoin as an asset is definitely more used than bitcoin as a currency.
And that is mainly caused by the fact that bitcoin is as volatile as it is right now, with lots of speculators around it.
I think that once bitcoin's volatility is gone, bitcoin as a currency will be appreciated and used more. And volatility and adoption rate of BTC has an inverse relationship, more adoption and actual usage of the BTC network and currency = less volatility. So as more adopters come onto the bitcoin scene, and more merchants accept BTC, bitcoin will become more of a currency, but still retaining the important aspect of being a store of value.
Don't forget the fact that being a store of value alone is a rare trait these days, and even if BTC ends up as that, it'll still be widely used and highly regarded.