The value of things is NOT the value of production. It is your perceived value, how useful it is to you in your context and moment. Your smartphone (depleted battery) vs water in a desert, or refrigerators in the north pole.
the characteristics of bitcoin is what gives it value, not what it cost was to mine it. Of course, there is less incentive to mine it if the market value goes under production value. But the sole fact that there is demand at all, means it is useful to enough people to give it that value.
I don't agree with medium. I'd rather not go offsite to read and comment on articles.
This is one of the main understandings of irrational theory that people simply refuse to understand. That value, while generally following a thread of logic, also can be completely based on what might appear to be nothing to the rational observer.
As much as I find myself thrilled by Bitcoin, I could not, for example, 2 years ago explain why it was worth $20,000 when it was months ago not, when I valued it as much.
Nor can I explain how people are willing to buy supposedly rare items online that can possibly still be manufactured without anyone being able to tell the difference (I'm thinking diamonds here).
But no two networks are the same. I'm talking about finality.
A Bitcoin confirmation is worth more/more secure than a confirmation on another network/blockchain. Plus Bitcoin has the most competent developers in the world of cryptocurrency development in my opinion.