>Do you have the same mindset in regards to physical gold? Gold has very little, if any, intrinsic or practical value, yet generations of humans have been motiv

>Do you have the same mindset in regards to physical gold? Gold has very little, if any, intrinsic or practical value, yet generations of humans have been motivated to acquire more of it. That statement is self-contradicting. If people covet gold for reasons other than what they might exchange it for, that means it has intrinsic value. And in addition to the satisfaction some people get from decorating their bodies with gold, it has many other practical uses. It's used in all types of electronic devices, including the computer you're reading this on. And as a medium of exchange, gold does not rely on a global computer network being available. (But in a post-apocalyptic world, gold probably would not have as much intrinsic value as it does currently. Whiskey, guns and cartridges would probably be a better bet.) The only thing scarce about crypto-currency is the energy it consumes, and the world's tolerance for its environmental impact. Aside from that, what prevents anyone from creating a new one? It's all about the mindset. As long as enough people believe bitcoin is valuable, it will be valuable. I could be wrong, but I don't think that will continue to be the case long term. I think crypto-currencies will continue to exist and will have some practical uses, but, IMO, their values relative to USD are going to be, shall we say, "adjusted" to a more sane level sometime in the future.