Trump says that we're going to embrace crypto
(twitter.com)
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What "intrinsic value" backs an Excel spreadsheet? In ancient rural villages, what "intrinsic value" backed the ledger that the village headman kept saying who owed what? That is what crypto is. Nothing more than an incorruptible, digital ledger. It solves the Byzantine General's problem of trust.
The problem is thinking of any money as something of intrinsic value. It isn't. All money, fiat cash included, is merely an accounting mechanism that has value solely because people decide to give it value.
If you want intrinsic value, only direct barter can offer that. Even gold is just a rock. Nobody values a rock...they value what that rock represents, and it works as an accounting mechanism because of its intrinsic properties.
You are still talking/thinking about money like it is "something". Money is nothing but an abstract accounting system that tells you how much of the planet's aggregate resources you are allowed to have. Ultimately, people assign value to the specific barterable items based on their desirability at a specific moment in time (i.e. the price, which can and does fluctuate), and the accounting chits are appropriately marked. That can be by passing a paper note, updating a ledger, or flipping bits in a computer.
There is never, ever, EVER intrinsic value to money. It is always and everywhere ONLY an accounting system. A ledger. Just like Bitcoin.
Don't confuse money with barterability. They are not the same things.
...well said
Gold has intrinsic value because it does not corrode. Gold plating adds intrinsic value (and quality) to anything it is put onto. Therefore, gold always has a demand, and intrinsic value.