thatiswowindeed! 139 quintillion calculations per second, but only 7 transactions made in that that same time. this is the polar opposite of efficiency. it shows how much of the power of this network goes into security and protection of those 7 transactions.
we are trained for efficiency. no matter what we do, we try to do it more efficiently next time. bitcoin is different. it gives up efficiency completely to ensure maximum security. that is counter-intuitive and makes it hard to understand and is one of the reasons for the existence of shitcoinery: "my blockchain is faster.."
the bitcoin algorithm is a monster. secured by 139 quintillion calculations per 7 transactions.
if you want to build a tank the equivalent thickness of the steel used would need to be 500yards. moves slow but no weapon existing could penetrate it, not even in theory.
That's a point when seeking for a valid argument in the bitcoin-gold comparison.
While some shitters are easy to move when the transaction numbers are high, bitcoins aren't.
Besides off-chain solutions and some anonymity-shitcoins, bitcoin is THE CC for hodling and reserve. Combine that with the scarcity and security argument. It makes bitcoin extremely apropiate for institutional uses. Nobody can professionally ignore that.
The when-moon-people are just too impatient and also distracted by price charts of 2017, i expect quite a number of repetitions over the next halvening cycles until something like "price discovery" actually kicks in.
My rookie tip: If you ever sell, don't sell it all, keep at least 10% of your corn for hodling.