> It was people gambling back then and that's what's continuing to happen. Not exactly true. Bitcoin was extensively used as a money laundering tool to facilit

> It was people gambling back then and that's what's continuing to happen. Not exactly true. Bitcoin was extensively used as a money laundering tool to facilitate illegal trade online. The money being used on those bkack-market deals dumped some liquidity into the mix and each money laundering transaction helped back bitcoins with real cash. As bitcoin's adoption as a key part of black market payment systems kept increasing, the increase in demand started driving the price. The phenomenon was very similar to the one where drug pushers started using Tide detergent as currency, except Tide has real world value and there are no shills pumping its value saying it's the future.