The use value of gold is just a little fraction of it's exchange value - so why people buy it? Because they expect someone else to buy it back from them.
Indirect exchange is
only one of multiple reasons people buy gold. There are many directly serviceable uses of gold and at least one of those reasons (ornamentation) were why people wanted to acquire gold
before it was ever used for indirect exchange.
There has only ever been one reason to buy bitcoins. It is circular in that the only reason anyone buys them is to sell them to another buyer, who is only buying them to sell them to another buyer, etc., etc. No one buys them to provide some direct service because they do not provide a direct service. They are just a number in the "value" field of a bitcoin transaction.
Although I acknowledge that it is not 100% certain to collapse, I believe it's chances of success are very poor, especially when considering all of the misconceptions bitcoin users have about the system they are using. This is why I say bitcoin prices do not reflect reality (this is the case with all bubbles), but rather reflects false beliefs that promote higher prices, and therefore is a bubble that is not done deflating.
I'm trying to introspect here and as I reflect on my own intentions I can't find any other reason that I buy dollars with my labor than to sell them to another buyer. What am I missing? If that's a criticism of bitcoins, surely it's also a criticism of dollars.