I would upvote this a hundred times if I could. I don't understand where this kind of demand for further understanding even comes from we are well past the point where it could have been written off as a fad and it is obvious there is value to it. There is no reason why everyone should feel the need to "get it" or get value out of it to understand that other people do get it and do get value out of it.

It is such a weird sentiment to me because it would never occur to me to devalue the value others get out of things I don't understand. I hate bonds, I don't "get" why anyone would want to buy bonds, people have tried to explain it to me. I decided that I will never buy a bond in my life because they are just the dumbest form of investment. I can hold that sentiment whilst saying "I don't get why they buy them but clearly there is a lot of value from the vehicle and it is clearly a valid form". I don't see why I should need to understand an monetary vehicle or like an investment vehicle to understand that some people do, and those people have a valid opinion.

Can we at least acknowledge how far the goal posts have moved? I can remember what people were saying about Bitcoin in 2013 - that it was a revolutionary technology on par with the creation of the Internet; that it was going to completely transform our global financial system; that it was going to replace fiat currency; that it represented a dazzling new future that you’d have to be an insane Luddite to not go all-in on.

Well, where are we now? What significant advancements have occurred since 2013 as a result of Bitcoin (other than the catastrophic climate impact)? What new technologies are powered by crypto other than niche, nerdy shit which no-one outside of a handful of enthusiasts cares about? Bitcoin is now 12 years old - if Bitcoin is the next World Wide Web, then who is the Google of crypto? Who is the Amazon? Hell, does Bitcoin even have a Lycos or a Yahoo?

And yes, I acknowledge that millions of people own Bitcoin and are trading it. But what reason is there to believe in Bitcoin, other than the fact that other people believe it? Yes, I know that you could say the same of fiat currency: dollars only have value because we believe they do. But the difference is that I use fiat currency every day to accomplish real things that have an enormous material impact on my life. The only thing I’ve ever used Bitcoin for is to buy drugs - what else am I ever going to do with it, except hope that the value increases so I can sell it to another speculator?

Maybe the crypto enthusiasts are laughing at me for asking these rhetorical questions as if there isn’t an obvious answer - in which case, let me know! I don’t want to miss out on the crypto wave if it really is as big as people keep telling me. But I’ve read books about Bitcoin, delved into crypto-related code, and spent many hours of my life studying blockchain technology and trying to understand what all the fuss is about. That was a couple of years ago, and I got bored and gave up. I’ve been telling myself to take another look given the recent price surge, but I just can’t motivate myself. What am I missing? Why do people act as if this is all so obvious?

I think the more pertinent question is, if they all halted what they are doing for an indeterminate amount of time for other people to get it, would the world [in future] be a worse place? And how?

If bitcoin disappeared tomorrow - just completely disappeared - then beyond some people losing their unwise investments, nobody would be significantly inconvenienced in any way whatsoever.

For any task (beyond speculation and illegal activities) that bitcoin is used for, there exists other, usually much better services that can be used instead.