1. All about Speculation, No Real Value, Doesn’t Produce Value
Speculators vs. Investors
Retail Investors Caused the Bubble of 2017. And as with any asset, the degree of speculation around it does not affect its underlying value. People speculated in favor of a small online bookstore in the late 90s, which proved to be a bubble, but then evolved into one of the largest companies out there. When the fundamentals of an asset is great, investors’ short term votes have no significance.
Bitcoin vs. Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin is one of the cryptocurrencies out there, and although it’s the flagship of cryptocurrencies with over 70% of the total crypto market cap, it is not at all what cryptocurrencies stand for. Bitcoin is indeed mostly used as a reserve asset.
Hate on Gold
Indeed, one of the uses of Bitcoin is to be a reserve asset. In some ways similar to gold, which I know you don’t like, but it does provide a hedge against inflation. Also, calling Bitcoin 'digital gold' neither does justice to Bitcoin, not does it help sway the G.O.A.T.
2. Anyone can start a currency
Yes this is true. That’s why we have seen the rise of various meme currencies, such as Dogecoin. And they again contribute to the speculation question. But creating a currency does not mean that people will be using it. Bitcoin is the safest cryptocurrency out there, in terms of the integrity of the bitcoin blockchain. It is even safer than most of Traditional Banking networks. Finally, as with Fiat currencies, the value of bitcoin is based on trust. But in contrast to a fiat currency, where you place your trust in a Government, in the case of Bitcoin you place your trust in the mathematical algorithms that govern it.
3. Companies Are Not Doing Business in Bitcoin
Financial products don’t count. Buffett has called derivatives WMDs, so we can’t use the argument that JPM are selling Bitcoin-denominated financial products as a response. Which is fair. That’s the strategy the GOAT has been using and he has the results to back this strategy up! But companies have started using bitcoin. Cryptocurrencies are not only a product, but a service. And one of the pros of using bitcoin is the swiftness of use. Granted, that for small purchases, using bitcoin doesn’t make a lot of sense. You wouldn’t go to the corner store and but a bottle of water, wait for 3 confirmations, taking 30 minutes, to clench your thirst. But in the case of larger transactions everything is different. If you want to buy a house, or pay an employee his or her monthly salary, you’ll have to make a wire transfer, which takes 3-5 business days, excluding bank holidays such as today.
4. Used for Illegal Activities The USD is the primary means of exchange for arms and drug dealers.
Nobody has said that we should stop using the USD because it’s being used by criminals. Same goes with many technologies. Back in 2015, the San Bernardino terrorists used the iOS’s iMessage encryption to hide and secure their communications, and there are other examples of criminals using other end-to-end encrypted messaging apps, even chats features of online games. New technologies are going to be used by legitimate individuals, institutions, and criminals alike. The adoption of a new technology by a criminal party says nothing about the value this technology can add to society.