I meant that the system has the intrinsic value, we just use that system to represent some other kind of value with its coins. However, the total value represen

I meant that the system has the intrinsic value, we just use that system to represent some other kind of value with its coins. However, the total value represented by the coins should reflect the amount of trust in the system, so these are not totally independent things. EDIT: Maybe you are right about this intrinsic value thing. In case the consensus is lost, gold will at least keep some of its value but Bitcoin could drop to 0 (just like dollar bills).