Re: why can't bitcoin be based on something that has value?
Some things have value because people trust in them as a medium of exchange or store of value. Even though Bitcoin is often described as "Magic Internet Money", its value is based on the rules of supply and demand. That, and also the fact that Bitcoin is the most decentralized and censorship-resistant kind of money in the world, makes it an extremely valuable cryptocurrency. If the OP is asking why Bitcoin can't be based on something that has value, then he/she doesn't understand Bitcoin is all about. It's something commonly expressed by people who either hate Bitcoin or lack knowledge of it.
Well maybe a better title to my posting would be "why can't a cryptocurrency be backed 1:1 by a physical asset?" that's really what I'm getting at, not that I expect bitcoin to change into something like that. but i do want to see something backed 1:1 by a physical asset similar to bitcoin except that it has that feature. the problem is i think it would be a much more complicated thing than bitcoin. we've seen that doing it with assets like oil or gold is somewhat problematic and awkward but if you could quantify some electronic thing of value then you could maybe base the asset on that. it could be a certain amount of disc space or a certain amount of cpu processing. As long as it can be quantified and has value then it could serve as a potential asset to back up the crypto 1:1.
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Bitcoin's been doing well on its own (despite the ups and downs in Fiat terms), so I'd say it doesn't need to be backed by anything to hold its value for a very long time. 21 million coins will ever be mined, making the pioneer cryptocurrency a truly scarce digital asset. If you believe in Bitcoin, then I'd suggest you "hodl" it no matter what. Otherwise, Bitcoin is not for you. With how far Bitcoin has gone since day one, it's unlikely it'll disappear (or go to zero) anytime soon. Just my thoughts 
you maybe right that it doesn't need to be backed up by anything to hold its value indefinitely but how do you really know? i think that all depends on what else is out there competing with bitcoin. also keep in mind there's probably only a limited supply of bored apes but they could go to 0 one day too. limited supply doesn't guarantee demand. it depends on the marketplace and what else is out there and what the competition is. i don't want bitcoin to go to 0 but i don't think 21 million has anything to do with that. look at eth. it doesn't have a limited supply and its price seems to mirror bitcoin's as far as ups and downs.
oh and as long as people are in control of bitcoin then nothing is really set in stone guaranteed. to do that you have to have a smart contract.