Quote from: BittBurger on November 30, 2013, 05:48:22 PM

"Bitcoin has no intrinsic value"... they say. Wrong.

Bitcoin's intrinsic value is in its *Utility*.

Just like Gold.

Just like paper money.

Bitcoin is a currency (paper money), a commodity (gold), a stock, a bond, and more. It is all of these things combined.

Bitcoin's intrinsic value is in its capabilities. Its ability to transfer hundreds of millions of dollars at once, almost instantly, free of charge, to anywhere in the world. Its deflationary nature, making it an excellent investment vehicle and store of wealth. Its value to merchants, wishing to avoid thousands in merchant fees from transactions. The list goes on and on.

Bitcoin is gold on steroids. Fiat on steroids. Stocks on steroids. Bonds on steroids. Bitcoin is the new "X Man" of finance.

Gold's intrinsic value is also in its utility. Before people walked this earth, gold had *no* intrinsic value. People gave gold value by "liking" it. Nothing more. Just like Bitcion. Then its value branched off to what people did with Gold. Its "utility" (just like Bitcoin). Jewelry, Shininess, Nice color, Creation of bullion (ala Casascius).

Gold doesn't have any more intrinsic value than Bitcoin. It has less.

Since both Bitcoin and Gold have value only because human beings say they have value, they started off equal in intrinsic value.
Since Bitcoin's utility spans far beyond that of gold, it has more intrinsic value than gold, and therefore will be worth far more than gold.

Next time someone says Bitcoin has no intrinsic value, remind them that its intrinsic value is in its utility. A utility that spans far beyond that of mere Gold or Paper Money.

Thoughts?

-Burger-

Well said. It's the conclusion I've come to as well. Furthermore gold's utility is coincidental; it simply happens to have the qualities that have made it useful. Bitcoin however was engineered for value, in an environment where further engineered financial innovations stretch as far as your imagination can roam.